


Coded

by Jo_Ji



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hackers, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mingyu is a hacker, Smut, Wonwoo has a stalker, camboy wonwoo, it's all in the past don't worry though, jeongcheol are more fuck buddies than anything, kind of enemies, mentions of abuse, seoksoon are loveydovey, set in England, strange love triangle, wonwoo is a little stupid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-03-07 09:21:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13431717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jo_Ji/pseuds/Jo_Ji
Summary: On the one day Wonwoo ventured outside, British weather decided to fuck him over and turn the city into hell. He lowered his head with a sigh and stared at his black and white sneakers. Another frustrated sigh left his lips when he noticed that his laces were untied. He took off his black backpack and placed it on the floor next to him so he could kneel down and fix them. Once he was finished, he stood up straight and shrugged his bag back onto his shoulders. He was about to grab his phone when-BingFeeling a vibration in his pocket, Wonwoo held back another sigh. If Soonyoung had texted him again about the pretty guy in the convenience store, he was going to-Oh."Panda?" Wonwoo whispered under his breath, entering his passcode after tapping the Snapchat notification. He didn't know anyone called Panda, and he only had around four or five people on Snapchat.OrWonwoo finds himself stuck with a stalker and some weird arse hacker who goes by 'Technician' helping him find out who it is. He really didn't expect his life to go completely bonkers from then on.(updates every Friday or Saturday)





	1. Camboys and Pandas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Won_Woo_  
>  who are you??
> 
>    
>  _Panda_  
>  I'm your soulmate, silly!
> 
>    
> Oh, okay. They're Wonwoo's soulmate. That makes sense. Yeah, total sense. Maybe if Wonwoo was fucking brain dead!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! I really hope you enjoy this story! I've been wanting to write it for a while so
> 
> Enjoy!!

"It's too hot..." Wonwoo mumbled to himself, adjusting his glasses so they were further up the bridge of his nose. Of course. On the one day Wonwoo ventured outside, British weather decided to fuck him over and turn the city into hell. He lowered his head with a sigh and stared at his black and white trainers. Another frustrated sigh left his lips when he noticed that his laces were untied. He took off his black backpack and placed it on the floor next to him so he could kneel down and fix them. Once he was finished, he stood up straight and shrugged his bag back onto his shoulders. He was about to grab his phone when-

_Bing_

Feeling a vibration in his pocket, Wonwoo held back another sigh. If Soonyoung had texted him again about the pretty guy in the corner shop, he was going to-

Oh.

"Panda?" Wonwoo whispered under his breath, entering his passcode after tapping the Snapchat notification. He didn't know anyone called Panda, and he only had around four or five people on Snapchat.

While waiting for his phone to load, he adjusted the straps of the dungarees he was wearing, glancing around. Before opening the chat from the mysterious 'Panda', he checked the stories from his very few friends. He was sure that Soonyoung and Hansol had gone to the skatepark and their Snapchats confirmed that.

soonboi _(1hour ago)_  


 

buy_my_mixtape _(54 minutes ago)_

Stuffing his free hand into his pocket, he opened Joshua's snap - though he already knew what it would be. Joshua enjoyed posting 'Good Morning' messages and deep quotes about life with the sunset or something.

Joshua_Hong _(4 hours ago)_  


Wonwoo couldn't help but smile at the snap. His friends were all way too predictable.  _Now,_ he thought, shifting his weight from one foot to the other,  _let's see who this 'panda' is._ He made his way to his chats and clicked on the red notification, chewing his lip. There was laughter near him; high school students who had just got out of school. They were gathered around a phone, watching a video; probably a kid at their school being bullied or something. The tall one with acne-riddled skin holding the phone was laughing hard, grinning. _He was probably called Callum_ , Wonwoo thought. The older male stared at them for another few seconds and then shook his head, turning back to his phone.  _Yeah, he was definitely called Callum._

There was a strange, tense feeling resting in Wonwoo's chest as he opened the Snap. A million different ideas went through his head when he thought about who it could be from - one of his siblings playing a prank on him, his mum, an ex, a psychopath-

But what was actually inside of the Snap made his blood run cold. 

"What..." Wonwoo managed to choke out, his throat suddenly feeling dry. When the short ten seconds ran out, he quickly replayed it, making sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. He hoped that his eyes were playing tricks on him, actually. His hands were shaking, his heart beating fast, and he looked up, searching his environment. Everyone was minding their own business, going about their daily routine; he noticed that the teenagers had disappeared as well.

It was a picture of him. More specifically it was a picture of him getting out of the taxi that drove him there. Reading the caption that came with it sent shivers down Wonwoo's spine. 

_Panda (10 minutes ago)_

Taking his hand out of his pocket, he held his phone with both hands, scared that he might drop it by how weak he felt. That was when 'panda' sent him another Snap. Wonwoo felt his blood run cold, he wanted to open it - he needed to open it - but he was scared. What if the person was right behind them?

_Panda (3 seconds ago)_

Well. That definitely made him feel better.

Almost immediately, Wonwoo spun around only to see a crowd of people. His shoulders slumped and he took a deep breath, his lips pursed. He felt sick. He wanted to go home. With his hands still shaking, Wonwoo dialled Soonyoung's number and brought his phone to his ear. It rung for a few seconds before his friend picked up.

 _"Yo, yo, yo! What's up, friendo?"_ Soonyoung's voice was cheery as usual.

Wonwoo bit his lip, his eyes busy scanning the crowd for anyone suspicious. "You're not at the shopping centre, right?"

 _"Nah, mate. I'm at the skate-park with Hansol."_ There was a rustling noise and then Wonwoo could hear Hansol's raspy voice saying hello.  _"Why, what's up?"_

The younger male swallowed, pushing his glasses up his nose again. "I think..." He sighed, fidgeting with the straps of his backpack. "I think I have a stalker or something. I got these really weird Snapchats from someone I don't know and they're pictures of me."

Soonyoung gasped over-dramatically and Wonwoo could almost hear his eyes widen.  _"Oh, my god, Wonwoo! You have a stalker! That's crazy!"_ Soonyoung made a weird yelping noise and there was some more rustling from his line.

"What is going on over there?"

 _"Oh, uh..."_ The older male trailed off, the 'uh' going on for a few seconds.  _"Some tossers called Hansol a nonce and now Hansol is chasing them around on his skateboard. They're probably only around eleven or twelve but their friends keep throwing stones at me."_

Wonwoo closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh. "Why did they call him a nonce?" He asked, cringing at the word. It was a stupid word: nonce. It made him think of weird year sevens who still dab even though it was 2027 and that had been dead for ten years. 

 _"Hansol was talking to one of the kids and then tripped over and landed on him."_ Soonyoung laughed; a bright, piercing sound.  _"It was sorta funny."_

"Course. Course he did," Wonwoo muttered, shrugging his shoulders in disbelief. "Is the kid okay?"

_"What? I didn't hear you."_

"Is the kid- Oh, nevermind. I'm hanging up," Wonwoo spat with faux annoyance. He was about to hang up when Soonyoung practically shrieked.

 _"WAIT. Wonwoo~! You have a stalker! That's a big deal! What if you get hurt or something? What if it's a crazy ex?"_ Soonyoung gasped.  _"What if it's someone from that weird live stream thing you do."_ Wonwoo rolled his eyes.

"Soonyoung, I doubt it. They can't even see my face."

_"But, what if-!"_

"I'll see you later, Soonyoung. Make sure to buy some milk on your way back. The Lidl near our flat should still be open. Or you could just go to that corner shop where that guy you like works at." Wonwoo hung up before Soonyoung could reply, sighing. He went back to his Snapchat, deciding to confront 'Panda'.

 

_Won_Woo_

who are you??

 

_Panda_

I'm your soulmate, silly!

 

Oh, okay. They're Wonwoo's soulmate. That makes sense. Yeah, total sense. Maybe if Wonwoo was fucking brain dead!

 

_Won_Woo_

that's just fucking weird

 

_Won_Woo_

dont text me again or i'll call the police

 

_Panda_

Oh, silly, beautiful Wonwoo. How are you going to report something that doesn't even exist?

 

Wonwoo's eyebrows furrowed as his phone screen went black. He quickly turned his phone back on and went to his Snapchat. He had to sign back in and once he did, 'Panda' was gone. With a confused nose scrunch, Wonwoo closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. His mind was swimming with questions: who was it, where were they, why him, and so many more.

He stood still for a few more seconds before he shrugged his shoulders and decided it would be best to walk home. He would deal with 'Panda' once he got home.

* * *

Wonwoo wished that seeing Soonyoung run around their flat dressed in a Pikachu onesie surprised him. He really did. But after seeing the same thing for the last two years, he was numb to it.

"Did you get milk?" Soonyoung froze at the sound of Wonwoo's voice and then groaned. "I'll take that as a no," Wonwoo said with a sigh, placing his backpack on the desk near him. He spotted a couple bags of crisps on the sofa and raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze to his best friend. "Did you go to the shop?"

"Yeah..." Soonyoung mumbled, running hands through his messy black hair. "But I got distracted and forgot the milk." 

Wonwoo rolled his eyes and sat down at the desk, opening his laptop. "Let me guess: the cute cashier was on shift?" Soonyoung's silence confirmed his suspicions. "Can you go get milk?"

"But-" Soonyoung's plead was quickly interrupted by Wonwoo's glare and the older man's shoulders slumped. "Fine..." Soonyoung shuffled over to the door and slowly took his shoes off of the rack and then, taking as long as he possibly could, pulled them onto his feet, his face morphed into an unattractive pout. Wonwoo watched him with unimpressed eyes, his fingers hovering over the keyboard of his laptop. After a few more seconds of agonizing silence, Wonwoo huffed, bringing his hands down on to his thighs.

"Could you take any longer?" 

Soonyoung slowly turned his face towards Wonwoo, his Pikachu hood half down his head, and made a face before saying, "Yes," dragging out every letter as long as possible. Wonwoo jumped a little when Soonyoung suddenly stood to his feet, huffing out his chest. "I'm leaving," he declared before leaving the flat, his hood finally falling down as he closed the door.

Wonwoo would have been relieved. That was if Soonyoung had actually taken his wallet.

The two had been friends since high school: Greenwich Academy. Greenwich was a huge, rich academy with a lot of reputation. It had everything; new technology, old technology, high GCSE scores, famous celebrities that attended, well-known teachers, everything. It even had those weird hologram teacher programs.

Wonwoo was terrified when his parents told him that he was going there. Going from a normal, middle-class primary school to a famous high school was a huge leap, especially for Wonwoo. Now, Wonwoo wasn't saying that his parents weren't well-off enough to send him to a rich school; both of his parents were lawyers and were both fairly rich. He just felt that he, himself, wasn't 'posh' enough to go to Greenwich.

So, when he entered the classroom and a [boy](https://66.media.tumblr.com/2ea9fa546c12af31f24054d6ff739c0d/tumblr_npq8f9WTEG1uxhu7yo1_500.jpg) with chubby cheeks, crooked teeth and a strong Northern accent appeared in front of him, declaring that he would be his guide for the day, he started feeling a lot better. He was also glad that he wasn't the only Asian. The thought of being the only Asian among a sea of white people terrified him for many reasons. What if they thought he was some sort of maths genius? He shivered at the thought.

Even though the two were complete opposites, they just kind of clicked. Soonyoung was loud, energetic and was loved by teachers and students alike. Wonwoo, however, was only ever noticed by teachers when he forgot his homework and students only ever saw him as 'the other Asian guy'. 

Somehow, just somehow, the two had managed to stay friends for fourteen years; even going to the same college and moving into the same flat. They were inseparable. But, just because they were best friends, didn't change the fact that the idea of Soonyoung walking into the corner shop where his crush worked, dressed in a stupid Pikachu amused him.

With a long sigh, Wonwoo turned to his laptop, turning it on. He hadn't closed his last tabs so his screen got taken over by his Livestream account, his comment section barren apart from a few stragglers. He wasn't live at that moment but a lot of people liked to watch his old Livestreams and would comment on the live section asking for another one. They were usually the same kind of thing; dirty, old, business wanting an attractive young(ish) boy to call them 'daddy' or something weirder. 

Yes. Wonwoo was a camboy. Be disgusted, hate him, do whatever. It didn't matter to him. Wonwoo got money to touch himself in front of a camera and he didn't even need to leave the house. It was the perfect job; he didn't even need to show his face. He had been doing it for years, ever since he was nineteen. His friend from college recommended doing it but he didn't bother until one day he got bored and decided to try it out. It was weird, but he enjoyed how people spoke to him when he did it. They liked watching him dress up for them and then taking it off, and Wonwoo liked the idea of them watching. The brunette shifted awkwardly in his seat, the thoughts turning him on.

Wonwoo's attention was thankfully shifted when the door flew open and Soonyoung came in, four-pints of milk in his arms. As he passed Wonwoo, he shoved the milk into his chest and then walked to the sofa, dramatically falling face first. "Uh..." Wonwoo started, placing the milk onto the desk. He slowly made his way to the sofa and sat down next to Soonyoung. "Are you okay?" 

Soonyoung lifted his head, his eyes sad, his cheeks bright red. "Why didn't you tell me that I was wearing a Pikachu onesie when I left?" he whined before shoving his face back into the sofa cushion. Wonwoo rolled his eyes, turning to face away from him. Soonyoung grumbled for a few more moments and then lifted his head again, staring a hole into Wonwoo's back. "So, about this whole stalker business."

"What about this whole stalker business?" 

"It's fucked," Soonyoung said blankly, sitting up and pushing a pillow into his lap. Wonwoo tapped his thumb against his index finger and then turned around, staring at Soonyoung.

"And?"

"And?" Soonyoung repeated, his eyes wide with disbelief. "You have a stalker, Wonwoo! They probably know where we live and everything!" Soonyoung visibly shivered at the thought of a creep knowing where they lived. "What if they want to hurt you?" 

"I don't think they want to hurt me," Wonwoo replied quietly.  _I'm your soulmate, silly!_ It didn't have a threatening vibe. It was just... plain creepy. "I mean, not in the way you're thinking. Plus, it's all probably just a stupid prank."

"How did they contact you?" Wonwoo wasn't used to hearing Soonyoung be so serious. It made him uneasy.

"Through Snapchat," he responded quietly, looking down.

"See! You didn't even accept them as a friend and they managed to send you a Snap. The only way to do that is through hacking."

Wonwoo rolled his eyes and slumped further into the sofa. "It's all shit. I just-" Wonwoo was interrupted by his phone vibrating and both heads snapped towards the device. Soonyoung's eyes shifted between the two, worry evident in his brown orbs. "Is it?"

"I don't know..." Wonwoo nervously took his phone and looked at the notification. It was an unknown number and the message read _'Sorry I had to delete our previous conversation. I couldn't have you going to the police, now could I? <3 You're so cute when you're scared. Also, tell Soonyoung he looked cute in a Pikachu outfit. (Don't worry, though. You're still my number #1)'_

"Oh, what the fuck..." Wonwoo mumbled, his tone annoyed. He showed Soonyoung the text and the older male made a sour face, making an 'ew' sound.

"What the fuck! They're so cringy!" Soonyoung declared, taking Wonwoo's phone and reading the text over again. "How did they know I was wearing a Pikachu outfit? Do they live across the road? Or downstairs?" The dancer groaned, shaking his body as he fell back onto the sofa. "I hate you so much, Wonwoo."

"What?" Wonwoo scoffed, glaring at this friend. "What did I do?"

"You exist." 

"Oh, shut up, Soonyoung. Let's just ignore this Panda dickhead." Wonwoo grabbed his phone and turned it off. "How's Seokmin?" Soonyoung suddenly perked up, his eyes brightening. 

Seokmin was a cashier with a bit of his eyebrow shaved off who worked at the corner shop near their flat. Soonyoung had had a crush on him for a few months but constantly refused to actually ask him out on a date in fear of rejection. Wonwoo had tried to tell Soonyoung that Seokmin obviously liked him back but the older male just ignored him, instead deciding to complain non-stop about being alone. 

"Well, today he had a bit of a sore throat so he sounded really raspy." Soonyoung took a moment to swallow and Wonwoo inwardly cringed at the obvious reasoning behind it. "And, as much as I care about his health, there was no denying that it was sexy as fuck." Soonyoung placed a hand on his chest and took a deep breath, shaking his head with wide eyes. "He's so attractive. It's unbelievable. Though, to be honest, almost everyone in that fucking corner shop is fit as fuck. Especially that buff dude with those cute ass ears. And the tall guy. But I think the tall guy has eyes for you, though."

Wonwoo, for the millionth time that day, rolled his eyes. "Will you shut up? I can't be bothered with relationships. It's bloody stupid as shit."

"That's just because you're sad." 

Wonwoo turned to glare at his friend, who just shrugged, grinning.

"I hate you."

"You love me really."

"Debatable."

"Okay, seriously, mate." Wonwoo looked up to meet Soonyoung's worried eyes. "What are you going to do about this 'Panda' weirdo? Are you going to report it?"

Wonwoo shook his head, fiddling with his shorts. "What's the point? When Seventeen hacked into that company, the police did nothing but calm riots in the streets and shit. They were utterly useless tossers as usual," Wonwoo said with a sigh, leaning his head against the sofa. Soonyoung was silent for a few moments before he gasped, gaining the younger's attention.

"What if you _contact_ Seventeen?"

Okay, Wonwoo had given Soonyoung a lot of dirty looks in his life for all of the stupid things he had said. But if looks could kill, Soonyoung would, without a doubt, be a corpse.

"Are you insane?" 

Soonyoung shuffled closer to Wonwoo, leaning his elbow against the back of the sofa. "No, but like, I'm sure it can't be that hard. Hansol knows a bit about hacking. Maybe he can help you contact them. Plus if they ask for money, you have that covered - you're parents are rich as fuck. And that camboy thing of yours' pays quite a lot."

"I'm not contacting a fucking hacking group. What if I piss them off and they somehow find out about that one time I tripped an old lady over and she broke her nose and then use that against me? My parents can't have their son be outed to be an old lady abuser," he rambled, sitting up on the sofa. The idea of a hacking group helping him find his stalker sounded ludicrous but, at the same time, wasn't it an exciting to imagine? 

Soonyoung whined, grabbing Wonwoo's arm and flailing it around. "But, come one~ Wonwoo~ This panda weirdo knows where we live~ What if they try to hurt me- I mean, us~"

"The only person who is gonna hurt you is me," Wonwoo said with faux poison, ripping his arm from Soonyoung's grip. "Unless one of them comes to me, I'm not getting involved. And, to be honest, I think an infamous hacking group has better things to do than deal with a camboy's stalker."

"Ugh, whatever." There were a few moments of silence before Soonyoung spoke up again. "Are you doing a live stream tonight?" He asked, glancing at his friend, who just nodded. "Okay, I'll just play video games in my bedroom for the night." He stood up and grabbed the snacks that had been relocated to the floor. As he passed the desk, he picked up the milk and put it into the kitchen before disappearing into his bedroom.

Wonwoo stayed still, thinking about everything, but then grew bored and stood up. He grabbed his laptop off of the desk and went to his bedroom. He set his laptop down on his bed and then took his shoes and socks off, kicking his shoes near the door and throwing his socks into the laundry basket. His room was fairly [normal](https://atmedia.imgix.net/ff30fdbaa1e1a460a6efd9fa0b75aac539296b71?auto=format&q=45&w=540.0&h=437.0&fit=max&cs=strip); it was neat with a desk, bookshelf, a bed and a couple posters from shows that Wonwoo enjoyed.

His Livestream career was strange. Most camboys he saw were, Wonwoo guessed, twinks. Wonwoo wasn't saying that he  _wasn't_ a twink, but most of them were fairly young with naturally hairless legs and those bright ass knee socks and high pitched moans. Wonwoo worked long and hard to shave his legs whenever he could be bothered. And his voice was not, in any way, shape or form, high pitched. He didn't particularly enjoy shaving and he knew that most of his viewers wouldn't mind him having hairy legs, but it was a nice feeling. Plus pale, hairless legs looked better in stockings than hairy legs did.

While Wonwoo was setting up his Livestream, his mind drifted back to what Soonyoung had said. Contact Seventeen. It seemed like an idea out of a novel. Sure, if he could contact Seventeen, he definitely would. But, he couldn't. Seventeen was an infamous hacking group that had been around since 2019 but it didn't actually do anything big until 2024 when it hacked into a large corporation and exposed it for every crime ranging from thievery to child pornography.

Wonwoo remembered when Soonyoung came running up to him, a newspaper in hand, a wide grin on his face. "They're so cool, Wonwoo!" he had said, way too excited. "Imagine how cool it would be to be a hacker!" Wonwoo had just rolled his eyes and went back to his book, muttering, "you don't even know how the dishwasher works. How are you gonna hack a computer?" Soonyoung had just hit him in return.

There was a bit of him that wished he could contact Seventeen. Imagine how much easier that would make his life. They would be able to find out who Panda was in a heartbeat.

With a sigh, Wonwoo shifted his attention back to his Livestream account. "I should probably send a photo and say that I'm going live..." he mumbled under his breath, crossing his legs on the bed, pulling his laptop closer. He went through the pictures in his library and chose [one](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/00/bc/c8/00bcc82d056efc9271899acdf4a6d745.jpg) to post with the caption 'Going live in a few minutes. Don't forget to log on.' He never tried to be cute with his viewers. It was too much work and he was sure that his viewers enjoyed him being upfront anyway. 

After turning his webcam on, Wonwoo clicked the 'Go Live' button in the corner of the screen. An image of him appeared on the screen and the comment section lit up with people asking him to get naked. Wonwoo chuckled, rolling his shoulders as he read the comments. "Afternoon, guys. How was your day?" He asked, making his deep voice sound softer; his voice was naturally soft but he thought it sounded nice when it was softer. 

"Woah," he muttered, seeing the view count go from four hundred to one thousand in a matter of seconds. He leaned forward to read a couple more comments, playing with his bottom [lip](https://data.whicdn.com/images/147863860/superthumb.jpg) then rolled his eyes. "You guys have no patience today, huh. A bunch of crazy stuff happened lately, I was hoping you lot would be a little more patient. Don't I look cute in dungarees?" He asked, unlatching the clips with a small smile as the viewers agreed. "'You'd look cuter if we could see your face'." Wonwoo tutted and shook his head. "I thought I told you guys that I can't show you my face. I have a job outside of doing this, you know." He stopped, pouting as he thought. "Well, I'll have a job tomorrow. Tomorrow is my first day." He slipped the dungarees off and threw them into the laundry basket. "'What kind of job is it?'" He read. "It's tech support," he replied with a small laugh. "I'm okay with computers so my roommate recommended that I get a job doing tech shit."

The brunette lifted his white top a little, showing his blue boxers to the camera. "I bought some new boxers. I was gonna get some cute ones but..." Wonwoo shrugged, uncrossing his legs. "That's a special service," he said with a small laugh. Wonwoo glanced over at the clock on his wall and sighed gently, licking his lips. "I'm sorry guys but today will be a quick one. I'll do some private shows afterwards, but this stream will have to be short."

Wonwoo continued to read comments as he began to touch himself through his boxers. He didn't actually have a reason for the stream to be short, but, after what happened, he didn't feel like doing it for long. Soft, quiet moans fell from his lips as he carried on his gentle movements, his other hand holding his shirt up. "Huh... Some of you are putting in some pretty large donations." He sighed, biting his lip as he slipped a hand into his boxers. "But I wished you'd be a little more... forward with your requests. You get me all excited when you order me around," he moaned, his voice breathy. A smile spread across his face as his comment section was flooded with orders from his viewers and he took his cock out of his boxers. 

He continued to stroke himself, his head lolling onto his shoulders as he closed his eyes, moaning. Knowing that thousands of people were watching him, from all corners of the world, turned him on beyond belief. Every so often, he would read a comment asking him to call them 'daddy' or 'master' but he just chuckled, shaking his head. 'That's a special service,' he would reply, stroking his cock faster.

A few more minutes passed of soft moans and whines before Wonwoo's body convulsed and he came into his hand. He sat there, panting for a couple seconds before he threw his viewers a small wave and signed off. Almost immediately, he got requests for private chats. While he waited for the requests to come through, he cleaned himself up and got changed into a pair of shorts and a clean top. 

Falling back onto his bed, he crossed his legs again. He looked through the requests, his chin resting in his palm. They were the same names over and over: 'BigDaddy, Big0addi, Big_daddy'. They thought it was an attractive name but, to Wonwoo, it was just a bit cringy. 

Wonwoo raised his eyebrow when a new name popped up. "'Technician'? What kind of boring ass name is that?" He mumbled quietly before clicking on the request. The screen went back to a live image of himself and he waited for the other side to pick up. He got himself ready and prepared for an image of a gross, old man with a tiny dick to appear on his screen.

So, that was why, when an image of a man wearing sunglasses and a face mask appeared, surprised was an understatement.

Wonwoo laughed gently, adjusting himself so his chin was out of the camera's view. "Is this some sort of kink?" he asked, a playful tone in his voice. He looked at the man's covered face and his gaze drifted to the mess of a bedroom behind him.  _He's definitely not an old man,_ he thought with pinched eyebrows.

"Uh..." Technician's voice was strange. It sounded like a robot would.  _Must be a voice modifier._ "D-don't worry about getting naked. I'm not interested in that." Wonwoo raised an eyebrow at that, confused.

"What do you mean 'not interested'? You realise this is a porn Livestream, right?" He asked, his words soaked in sarcasm.

Technician looked away, rubbing his neck. "I-I know. I just- I'm not here for the porn. Um..." He took a deep breath, turning his face toward the camera. "I know about your stalker problem."

Wonwoo sat still for a moment. Then he grabbed his laptop and pushed the camera up, showing his annoyed face. "Are you panda?"

The man quickly shook his head, waving his hands around in a panic. "I'm not, I promise! I just- I happened to hack into your computer this morning and I heard you talk to your friend. I thought this would be a good time to say that I can help."

The camboy pursed his lips, his eyes narrowed. "Are you..." He trailed off, thinking. "Are you from Seventeen?" His voice was filled with disbelief and a little annoyance. The man just hacked into his computer and probably knew everything about him. How could he not be annoyed?

Technician nodded his head, pushing the sunglasses further up his nose. "My name is Technician - Tech, for short. Well- It- It isn't my real name but I can't tell you my real name. My boss would kill me if I did that-" 

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" Wonwoo interrupted. He wasn't used to seeing his own face on his Livestream. It was weird, and he wanted it to go.

"Uhm..." Tech looked around, obviously searching for something. He grabbed a piece of paper and began reading from it. "Your name is Wonwoo Matthews. Your parents are Sarah and Lian Matthews. You were adopted at age two and moved to England at age four. You went to Greenwich Academy... You live in London with your best friend Soonyoung Kwon, who was born and raised in North Yorkshire; although his family is from South Korea." He laughed a little, tilting his head as he read. "You used to be an emo back in high school and there are a bunch of photos to prove it. I actually have [one](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKHRWYODkQn0kQ921CU0MnrKcMtjQ49tCqoTMT4NXGTc8ZktLL) here-"

"Okay! I get it! Jesus..." Wonwoo sighed heavily, his cheeks dyed dark red. He did  _not_ want a reminder of that.

"So, you believe me?" Tech asked. Even with the voice modifier, he sounded happy. Wonwoo stuck his tongue in his cheek and looked to the side, shaking his head. 

"Whatever. Fine. You're Seventeen. Why should I believe that you're not my stalker problem?" He asked, staring at Tech. 

"Well, I wouldn't be contacting you directly saying that I wanted to help if I was, would I? That would just backfire." 

Wonwoo hated how much that made sense. He swallowed and bit his lip, glancing at his phone. "Can you seriously help?" He inquired. Tech nodded and adjusted his face mask.

"At a cost," he quickly said, holding up one finger. 

Of course, there was a cost.

"What? You want me to be your personal bitch or something?" 

"What? No! Jesus, Wonwoo. You have to pay me. And I know you can because you're parents give you a lot of money-" 

Before Tech could finish his sentence, Wonwoo nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll pay you. Just help me get rid of this dickhead." Tech nodded happily - Wonwoo assumed he was happy since he couldn't actually tell - and put the paper he was holding down. 

"Okay, Wonwoo. You and I are buddies now. I'll contact you tomorrow after you get out of work and we can set up a time to meet. I need to have a look at your phone." He waved at Wonwoo and, before he could protest, logged off. 

Wonwoo sat there for a second before scoffing, his face scrunched up. "What the actual fuck." Just as he was about to close his laptop, his phone vibrated next to him and he saw the message 'Have sweet dreams, Wonwoo~ Love Panda' appear on the screen.

Wonwoo's life was just getting better and better, wasn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Joji here~  
> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of many to this fic  
> I will make a front cover for it soon if I can make time for it but for now, you will have to imagine one lol  
> Anyway, please leave a comment (advice is always appreciated)  
> and I will see YO  
> in the next chapter  
> thank you for reading~~ ^_^


	2. Teenage Girls and Whales

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update!!!  
> I got ill and I was halfway through this chapter so I thought instead of pushing out a shitty chapter I'll wait until I'm feeling better and release it  
> thanks for being patient ^_^  
> trust me to get an ear infection the only time i decided to actually update a story weekly

Wonwoo officially wanted to die.

Not only had he not been able to sleep that night due to the stuff with that Tech guy, he had also woken up late that morning. He had only had time for a shower and to change into clean clothes. He missed breakfast and had to run his way to work because his crappy car wouldn't start up; which was something that it  _kept_ doing.

Once he found his way into the office building, he felt like dying - he wanted to die. He just hoped that his boss would be able to dismiss one late day. He knew that he had to go to the sixth floor for tech support so he made his way to the lift and he was  _so_ glad that it actually worked. If the lift was broken, he would have actually thrown himself off of a bridge.

While in the lift, he sorted out his tie and smoothed the wrinkles out of his shirt, chewing at the insides of his cheeks like a madman. Wonwoo was nervous. And tired. And fed up. He just wanted to go back home and  _sleep_. He watched the lift buttons, his lips pursed. It felt like an eternity had passed before the doors opened and he could step out. Fiddling with the end of his tie, he looked around, searching for the familiar face that always put his nerves to ease-

Oh! 

Wonwoo's face lit up and his feet automatically went to move but he froze when he saw his face. Joshua stood, his arms crossed, listening to someone talk with a [concentrated ](http://mimgnews1.naver.net/image/420/2017/05/17/100625029_05.jpg)expression on his face. Wonwoo had always found Joshua attractive but something about him when he was working was just so...  _captivating_. He looked like a completely different person. 

Joshua must have felt someone staring at him because he looked up, his face morphing into a smile when he made eye contact with Wonwoo. He placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and said a few things before walking over to Wonwoo. 

"Morning, Wonwoo," he greeted with a smile, his American accent sticking out. Wonwoo felt like crying - Joshua's voice was way too calming and soft for his tired mind.

"Josh, I'm so sorry." Wonwoo cringed at how exhausted he sounded.

Joshua tilted his head with a confused expression, his eyebrows pinched. "Sorry for what? I'm confused." Wonwoo blinked a couple times and grabbed his phone, showing Joshua the time: _10:15 am,_

"I'm late. By, like, an hour," Wonwoo replied, swallowing thickly. He expected Joshua to tut and shake his head, disappointed with Wonwoo, but instead, he just chuckled, pointing at the clock to their left. "The clock went back yesterday. Your phone must not have caught up. Technically you're five minutes early."

 _What._ Wonwoo looked at the clock and his mind went blank. Joshua was right.It was nine  _fucking_ fifteen.

Wonwoo groaned, throwing his head back, tears threatening to form. "I thought I was late. I didn't even eat breakfast," he mumbled, his chest heavy. Joshua chuckled again and pulled a five-pound note out of his pocket, passing it to Wonwoo. 

"Go grab something to eat, Wonwoo. You know where your desk is, right?" Wonwoo nodded his head. "Okay. Since it's early, you have five minutes to get yourself ready. It's your first day so you won't be busy. The person who works right next to you, Joonhwi, will be here soon and he'll show you to anything you need. Okay?" The younger male nodded again, smiling at Joshua. 

"Alright," Joshua said as he patted Wonwoo's shoulder gently. "I need to go talk to someone, so I'll talk to you later." He nodded slightly at Wonwoo before walking off, leaving the brunette to sigh softly, his body, all of a sudden, feeling a hell of a lot lighter.

Wonwoo had met Joshua through Hansol four or five years earlier. The skater had introduced him as 'a cool American dude' who taught him English after school. Twenty-year-old Wonwoo wondered why on Earth a twenty-three-year-old was sad enough to teach an annoying sixteen-year-old kid English but he turned out to be a pretty cool guy. They got along and Joshua was always there for him when Wonwoo needed him.

The day that Joshua came up to him, telling him that the company he worked at was hiring and he could put in favours to make it easier for Wonwoo to get hired, he thought that God, himself, had visited. They celebrated that night by getting drunk. (Well, Soonyoung and Wonwoo got drunk. Joshua just drank water because 'alcohol isn't good for you.')

After grabbing a couple bags of crisps at the vending machine, Wonwoo made his way to his desk. It was plain and a little boring. Wonwoo mentally noted that he needed to grab a few things to lighten the place up. Maybe a few pictures of his cats or something. Wonwoo sat down in the chair and looked at the computer that was in front of him, pouting slightly as he thought.

"Are you new?" Wonwoo jumped a slightly nasally voice spoke, causing him to hit his knees on the underneath of the desk. Wonwoo groaned in pain, his face scrunched up. The owner of the voice laughed gently before quickly apologising. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to surprise you." Wonwoo looked up at the man, his lips parted slightly. 

 _Fuck_. Another attractive guy. He was wearing a grey cardigan over a white top and his brown hair was styled neatly. He had pale skin and amazing facial structure; nice jawline, thin but attractive lips, high cheekbones and pretty eyes. He was tall, but not as tall as Wonwoo, and stood with good posture, his skin tanned lusciously- Fuck. Wonwoo didn't have enough words to describe how attractive he was. He wanted to curse because he hated how unattractive he felt in the presence of him. 

Obviously uncomfortable with the staring, the man shifted, pulling the cardigan [closed](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/ee/7b/05/ee7b0597f4a8f0c1be500f3c503e7ce2.jpg) with a smile. Wonwoo blushed and quickly looked away, staring at his keyboard. "Uhm," he muttered, swallowing. "It's fine. Y-yeah, I'm new. I'm Wonwoo Matthews," he said quietly, avoiding his eyes as he lifted his hand.

The other man chuckled gently and took Wonwoo's hand, grinning. "I'm Joonhwi Moon. I work next door to you." Joonhwi let go of Wonwoo's hand and pointed at the desk next to Wonwoo and the taller male looked over, spotting a few photos pinned to the booth wall. They were mainly photos of [Joonhwi](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/cb/74/68/cb7468dc2a0b79ecd47d7eb13671630f.jpg) and a [boy](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/dd/14/7b/dd147ba92c65af73dfb45fc59f7fb983.jpg) who resembled an elf that Wonwoo saw in those old fantasy movies. 

Wonwoo nodded his head slowly and then turned back to Joonhwi, a small smile on his lips. Joonhwi smiled back, resting his arms on the short wall. "How come you're early on your first day? You that eager to come to work?" He asked, his eyebrows raised.

Scoffing, Wonwoo shook his head. "My phone didn't catch up when the clocks went back. I thought it was ten this morning," he said with a sigh, looking at Joonhwi. The other man laughed. God. How can someone be so attractive? Wonwoo knew that his looks must have been illegal somewhere in the world.

Joonhwi walked past Wonwoo and sat down at his own desk, humming quietly. "Do you think they put us next to each other because we're both Asian?"

Wonwoo laughed gently, pushing his chair back so he could look at Joonhwi. "Maybe? Are you Korean?" 

"Yeah. But I moved to England when I was like ten. You?" Joonhwi asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I moved to England when I was four. You probably actually speak Korean unlike me." Joonhwi looked at Wonwoo with wide eyes and his cheeks puffed out, obviously disagreeing.

"Don't even talk to me about Korean. I don't know how, or why, but my Korean sucks. Hell, I speak Chinese better than I speak Korean," he exclaimed, amusement in his voice. Wonwoo smiled slightly and then turned back to the computer, biting the inside of his cheek. He was glad that there was someone to talk to but he wasn't very good at keeping up conversations.

"You don't look like someone who'd be in Tech Support," Joonhwi suddenly said, gaining the younger's attention. Wonwoo shrugged in reply, his eyes drifting to the pictures on Joonhwi's booth wall. There were a  _lot_ of photos of Joonhwi and that boy; maybe a [brother](https://wx3.sinaimg.cn/orj360/0061utS2gy1fogypcepcgj30k00qo77j.jpg) or a [boyfriend.](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4e0621da2771bcb67676f56c9ea2f15b/tumblr_oxou6lz4IJ1u8a58ao4_1280.png) The two didn't look very similar so boyfriend was more believable. Or maybe they were cousins. Was it racist to assume they're related because they're both Asian? 

"I like working with computers. Plus my roommate said that if I'm going to work with stuff, I may as well work with my own kind." Wonwoo grumbled the last part, tapping his fingers on his desk. Soonyoung had thought that his joke about Wonwoo being a computer was fucking hilarious. He wouldn't stop referring to it for almost an entire week. Joonhwi chuckled at Wonwoo's words, sitting back in his chair and taking a sip out of the can of Fanta he had.  _When did he get that?_ Wonwoo thought, confused. He could have sworn Joonhwi arrived empty-handed. Once again Wonwoo found himself staring at the pictures. Whatever they were, they were cute together.

The older male followed Wonwoo's gaze and smiled. "That's my friend, Myungho."

"Friend?" Wonwoo asked, an eyebrow raised in a questioning manner. Joonhwi smiled, and Wonwoo tried not to notice that it didn't reach his eyes. Wonwoo hummed, suddenly feeling a little awkward, and turned his head, watching as his computer booted up.

The company that he was working for wasn't all that fancy. Well, it had those adverts that were a hologram of a woman talking about the company, but that was it, really. The fact that it even had a team for tech support proved that it wasn't all that grand; most companies had holograms for tech support. In 2019, there was a huge push in the technological daily life of human beings. The world seemed to just...  _update._

Wonwoo was only seventeen when it happened; when the world updated. Everyone went from having a handheld smartphone to a pair of glasses or a watch. Wonwoo always thought that using a pair of glasses that connected to your brain was a little weird so he just stuck with his Samsung.

Wonwoo's parents wouldn't let him get anything other than a normal smartphone anyway. Hell, his mums wouldn't even let him get console games with the age rating '16' until he was actually sixteen. Everyone in his family were 'old timers', he supposed. They preferred the technology that was around before 2019; clunky computers and smartphones with the thickness of a couple pennies. In Wonwoo's opinion, it was weird how much everything seemed to change in just ten years. The world went from slightly advanced to so advanced it was a little stupid.

Seventeen was a controversial topic. Some saw it as a good thing, some saw it as the worst thing ever to happen to mankind, and others just didn't care. Wonwoo fell into the 'didn't care' category when it came to Seventeen. He hadn't even put much thought into hacking until the whole 'Panda' situation happened. Wonwoo just didn't think it was important enough to put thought into. 

When Seventeen was first created in 2019, the height of the technological advancement, the government kept a close eye on them but they didn't see them as a threat. They hadn't done anything other than open the curtains on a few criminals and shine spotlights on small dodgy companies. But then 2024 came around and one of the biggest companies in England, Ardval Corp, had their secrets brought to light. One day they ruled the business world in England and then next they were less than dirt. So many people lost their jobs, so many shops went bankrupt and closed, so many children lost their fathers or mothers or, for some, both. 

If Wonwoo had any reason to dislike Seventeen, it would be because of that; children losing their parents. He knew that those people were disgusting and deserved to go to prison, but those children were left fatherless, motherless, or they were orphaned completely.

Those children didn't care about whether or not their parents were criminals. They were their parents, no matter what. 

 

* * *

 

Wonwoo's concentration was broken by his phone ringing. His fingers hovered over the keyboard as he nervously glanced at his phone, expecting it to have 'No Caller iD' across the screen. He didn't know if he was relieved or not to see that it was, in fact, Hansol. With a small sigh, he picked up his phone.

_"Yo, Wonwoo, dude."_

Wonwoo rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "Always a charmer when it comes to starting conversations, huh, Hansol?"

 _"Yeah, dude. Anyway, me and Soonyoung were talking and- dude, shut up- and- Oh, my god!"_ Wonwoo cringed at the volume and moved his phone from his ear. 

"What is going on there?" He asked, nodding his head in greeting when a coworker walked by. All this interaction was driving him insane. 

 _"Oh- um,"_ Hansol stuttered before laughing a little.  _"Sorry, this dude in the skate shop wouldn't stop being a douche."_ Wonwoo raised an eyebrow, moving his phone so it was squashed between his ear and shoulder, making it easier to type.  _2027 and people are still using the word 'douche'. Well, people being Hansol,_ he thought with a small smile, waiting for his younger friend to carry on.

_"Anyway, me and Soonyoung were talking about what to do this weekend and we thought that we could, maybe, do what we used to do."_

"What we used to do?" Wonwoo asked, confused.

 _"Yeah, you know. Hang out at one of our places and just watch old, shitty movies and eat those 'three bags for £1' things from the corner shop. We haven't done it in forever and, I don't know, we just never hang out anymore. I mean: Josh has work, Soonyoung is either volunteering or dancing or gushing over that dude, and now you've got a job. I just feel that we're drifting apart, dude,"_ Hansol took a deep breath, before carrying one,  _"so, what'd you think?"_

"Okay, first off-" Wonwoo straightened in his seat, smiling slightly. "That's the most I've heard you talk in almost forever. And, secondly, I would love to. It really has been forever since the four of us hung out together." He took hold of his phone, throwing Joonhwi a tight smile as they awkwardly made eye contact. "And, lastly, please- for the love of God- stop saying dude. You said it, like, six times alone in this phone call."

Hansol laughed lightly.  _"Sorry, dude."_

"Hansol."

_"Dude, I heard you. But can you really expect me, a young man, not to say dude? Dude, I think that's a little, you know, crazy."_

Wonwoo sighed, shaking his head. "You're doing it on purpose now. Right, I need to go. I have work."

_"'Kay, dude. Ttyl."_

When the line went dead, Wonwoo stared at his phone with a look of disgust on his face. The fact that Hansol had just said the word 'dude' eleven times in a conversation that lasted about five minutes was a lot, but the fact that he just said 'ttyl' in real life? Absolutelydisgusting.

With a quiet sigh, Wonwoo put his phone down. A few hours had passed since he arrived and his day was, to put it lightly, boring. He had had one call and it was an old woman wondering why her printer wasn't working; turns out she hadn't plugged it in in the first place. Wonwoo noted that: no matter advanced technology was, there were still old people who were confused by simple things.

Wonwoo ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath when he felt something cold against his neck. He gasped, instantly whipping around to stare at the source. Joshua was standing there with a grin, a can of Sprite in his hand. "Long day?" 

The younger male smiled slightly, taking the can from Joshua as wiggled it slightly. "Why do old people still have no idea how to work tech?" Wonwoo groaned, tapping the lid of the can while staring at his computer. Joshua laughed gently, resting his arms on Wonwoo's chair. 

"I think old men and women will forever have no idea how technology works," he said before taking a sip of his own drink; coffee in a takeaway cup. Weird, Wonwoo thought, Joshua didn't like takeaway cups; he thought they tasted weird. "Do you like it here?" Joshua leaned in closer to whisper the next part; Wonwoo could smell the coffee on his breath. "How's Joonhwi? I know sometimes he can be a little overbearing."

Wonwoo smiled while shaking his head. "Yeah, it's nice here. A little boring but what can you do?" The younger dropped his voice low as well. "And he's not that bad. We haven't spoken much though. Just awkward smiles whenever we make eye contact." Wonwoo couldn't help his smile when Joshua laughed, patting his shoulder gently.

"Oh, yeah, almost forgot," Joshua clapped his hands together before leaning on Wonwoo's desk table. "Did Hansol call you? About the 'Dude's weekend' thing?" Wonwoo nodded, looking up at the older male. "I swear in that phone call he said the word 'dude' around fourteen times." 

With a small laugh, Wonwoo shook his head. "That's not even it. When he told me, he said 'ttyl' in real life. Not 'talk to you later', but just 'ttyl'. He's only twenty-one but I feel as though he's so much younger." 

"Well, there's a seven-year age gap between him and I, so I suppose that's reason enough for a slight generation gap."

Wonwoo raised his eyebrows with a sharp intake of breath, taking in that information. "Sometimes I forget that you're almost thirty."

Joshua gasped overdramatically, placing a hand on his chest. He stared at Wonwoo for a second before sniffling, his face softening with mock sadness. "Sometimes  _I_ forget that I'm almost thirty. Twenty-eight is such a strange age. You're not thirty, yet you feel thirty, but you still look twenty." Joshua breathed out a gentle laugh and looked at the carpeted floor. "A friend in high school used to tell me that we'd become thirty together and celebrate by telling kids stories about what life was like before touchscreen _books_ were a thing." Wonwoo tried not to notice the way that Joshua's eyes seemed to soften, a small amount of sadness in his eyes. With a deep intake of breath, he sat up straight.

"Is this the same friend from high school that wanted to grow out his hair so he could flirt with random men and get free things?" Wonwoo asked with a small laugh, hoping that it didn't sound too forced. "If not and they're different people then you had a lot of weird friends back in high school." Wonwoo smiled when Joshua laughed, his eyes crinkling into cute crescents.

"I seriously wonder where your sense of humour comes from, Wonwoo. Sometimes you're a dry walnut, and sometimes you're the funniest person I've ever met," he said with a smile. Wonwoo opened his mouth to retort to Joshua's  _blatant_ insult but before he could the older man was called by someone and walked off after saying a quick 'talk to you later'.

Wonwoo watched his friend walk away before turning back to his computer, heaving out a heavy sigh. Today was going to be a  _long_ day.

 

* * *

 

 

The sun was still up, if not by much when Wonwoo's work day was over. Joshua and Joonhwi had already left to go home and Wonwoo was sitting on a bench outside the building, bouncing his knee with his phone in hand. He was still waiting for a text or a call, or anything, from Technician. Or Tech, or whatever that shithead wanted to be called. 

Wonwoo shook his head with a sigh, stretching his legs. He wanted to  _sleep_ and  _not_ have to deal with some weirdo texting him constantly. 

_Bing_

Speak of the devil.

 

**Unknown Number**

_Meet me near the fountain._

**Unknown Number**  

_this is tech btw_

**Unknown Number**

_also u dont need to meet me but itd be pretty cool if u did cos i wanna check ur phone_

**Unknown Number**

_also u know what fountain i mean right? big one the water sometimes goes different colours when theres a celebration like christmas or somethin theres a lot of flowers_

**Unknown Number**

_well not many flowers at the moment cos kids broke them but like_

**Unknown Number**

_im gonna stop texting u now sorry wonwoo i get nervous meeting new people_

 

Wonwoo scrunched up his face. This hacker texted like a teenage girl. With a sigh, Wonwoo stood to his feet. "This shithead better fix my problem otherwise I'm going to shove a computer up his gross arse," he muttered quietly, slipping his phone into his pocket. He stood still for a moment, trying to remember what a fountain even looked like, before making his way to the meetup place.

The first thing Wonwoo noticed when he found himself at the fountain was that there was an annoyingly suspicious looking idiot sitting on the bench nearby. Wonwoo actually wanted to turn back around and allow this 'Panda' to hack into his life and take everything from him.

With a sigh, Wonwoo walked to the bench and, his arms crossed, plopped himself down. "You, sir, are the most suspicious person I have ever seen." The man next to him jumped at the sudden voice and Wonwoo finally got a good look at his face. He was wearing the same black mask, sunglasses and hoodie as he was when they face timed. _He looks like a terrorist_ , Wonwoo thought. _An annoying one that hacked into my computer and watched me masturbate- ugh, great. This terrorist-looking piece of shit watched me beat my meat._

Tech grumbled, crossing his arms. "S.Coups would kill me if I talked to you with my face showing. And Ming- The8 kicked me out of the flat and-" Tech looked at Wonwoo's uninterested face and sighed. "You don't care, sorry. Pass me your phone," he said and, even with the voice modifier, he sounded dejected. Wonwoo could feel bad - he seriously could - but he also didn't care. For all Wonwoo knew, this man  _was_ his stalker and this whole situation was a ploy to get Wonwoo into his creepy BDSM basement. And, if he wasn't, which was highly unlikely, then Tech was still a creep for hacking into his computer.

Wonwoo stared at Tech's outstretched hand before sighing, passing him the phone. "Just be careful with it, okay?"

"Why? It's not like you're unable to buy a new one. Your parents are rich as hell," Tech noted, turning his attention to the phone. Wonwoo scoffed, glaring at the side of his head. Wonwoo could see where Tech's brown hair was falling out of the hoodie he was wearing. It was a nice colour; chestnut brown. 

 _What the fuck, Wonwoo,_ his common sense interrupted his wondering thoughts, giving them a good slap across the face.  _You don't even know what this guy looks like. He's probably really ugly - buck teeth, unibrow, gross pedo-stache._ Wonwoo quickly averted his gaze when Tech turned his head, probably feeling Wonwoo staring at him.  _Yeah, of course. He's got to be really ugly. Why else would he hide his face?_ It wasn't like Wonwoo knew anyone other than his small circle of friends.

After a few moments of silence, Wonwoo sighed, crossing a leg over the other. Usually, he preferred silence, but it looked annoyingly suspicious for Tech to just sit quietly on his phone while covering 90 percent of his face. "What's with the name 'Technician? Couldn't you pick a cooler name than... 'Tech'? 

Tech chuckled before shrugging, his eyes still trained on the phone. Well, Wonwoo was pretty sure that he was looking at the phone. It was difficult to tell when he was wearing sunglasses. "It was either that or Mr Wristband or - even worse - Kim-ssi ahjussi." Wonwoo blinked, confused.  _The hell is an 'ahjussi'?_ Wondering it had suddenly gone quiet, Tech looked up. "What?"

"What's a 'Kim-ssi ahjussi'?" Wonwoo asked, tilting his head a little when he realised that it sounded different when he said it.

"You're Korean and you don't even know what an ahjussi is?" Wonwoo could almost feel the judgement from Tech's words.

Wonwoo made a face, shaking his head. "I grew up in England. I'm a fully-grown British Citizen. I hardly remember anything from Korea. I only know how to say 'hello' in Korean and I'm pretty sure I pronounce that wrong. Why does it matter anyway? Are you Korean?" Wonwoo asked in a mocking voice, an eyebrow raised. He knew he was being childish but his life had become a joke so he couldn't be bothered to take his situation seriously.

Tech placed Wonwoo's phone down into his lap, bringing his shoulders up, then down. He wasn't shrugging; he probably just thought that Wonwoo was being annoying. "I am Korean, actually! Can't you tell-" Tech cut himself off and turned away. "Don't answer that."

The other male huffed, staring into the distance. "So, why Tech?" 

Tech laughed gently, shrugging a little. "I don't know. S.Coups thought it suited me. So did The8 and Jun. Though Boo and DK thought it was a little stupid." Tech stopped for a second and Wonwoo could have  _sworn_ that the facemask moved forward a little. "So did Dino and 1004. Woozi said it made me sound like a plumber." He glanced at Wonwoo and laughed again, tilting his head a little. "You look lost."

"Who the hell joins a hacking group and then goes: 'Whelp, I guess I'm going to call myself Jun." That's the most boring secret name I've ever heard." Tech laughed again, nodding slightly. 

"I think you and Jun would get along. Or you might hate him. There's a thin line when it comes to liking or hating Jun; it's sorta easy to cross." Wonwoo breathed out a laugh, pulling his shirt arms over his palms and playing with the fabric. "Oh, yeah, about payment," Tech suddenly said, turning to Wonwoo. "You don't need to pay me now. I'd prefer to take cash to card anyway. But I just wanna settle the price-"

"Look,  _Tech_ ," Wonwoo put extra emphasis on the 'ch' part of his name, "I don't care about how much I need to pay you. Just get rid of whoever Panda is-"

_Bing_

"I just got a text. Pass it here." Before Tech could protest, Wonwoo took his phone and went to his messages. At first, he thought that it would be from Soonyoung; telling him about the anime he's watching or if the guy from the corner shop was wearing skinny jeans or not. But, of course, life wasn't that easy. 

Once he read the text, he gave his phone back to Tech, a heavy, tired sigh falling from his lips. 

"What does it say?" Tech asked and, when he received no reply, turned to the phone in his hands. "'I hope you had a fantastic day at work, baby boy...'" he read aloud quietly, glancing at Wonwoo when he reached the end of the text message.

"'Love the only one who TRUELY cares about you, Panda,'" they said in unison. Tech hummed awkwardly and leaned further into the bench while Wonwoo groaned, placing his head in his hands.

"I want to die," he declared, fighting back tired tears. "I'm going to jump off a bridge and hope I get reborn as a whale."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A whale?" Tech asked with a small laugh.

Wonwoo took a sharp intake of breath and sat up, glaring at the other male. "Yes, Tech.  _A fucking whale._ Do you think whales have to deal with crazy weirdos texting them, sending them pictures of themselves when they just try to go outside for the first in forever and probably watch their fucking porn livestreams and beat their meat - because I'm assuming this piece of shit is a man because who else - and probably sleep outside their flat?"

Tech somehow managed to make himself smaller and he slowly shook his head, turning his attention back to the phone.

"That's what I thought," Wonwoo mumbled quietly, closing his eyes.

Why did the universe hate him so much?

He just wanted to sleep.

And, hopefully, God would take pity on his poor soul and he would pass away in his sleep.

_Hopefully._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONCE AGAIN  
> thanks for being patient  
> also lol did you see how I changed the update schedule?  
> this chapter was meant to be up yesterday but I fell asleep and it wasn't finished  
> once again!  
> advice is always welcome  
> also how do you all feel about the pictures?  
> you want me to stop with that?  
> carry on?  
> I have a lot of pictures to use.  
> so...  
> love you all  
> see ya ^-^


	3. Milk and romance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kinda short, sorry

"No, sir- I've- Sir, please listen. That-" The line suddenly went dead and Wonwoo wished that his own lifeline would follow suit. 

Wonwoo had to hold back the sudden urge to rip his own hair out and he clenched and unclenched his hands. It had been a week since everything started; since Panda and Tech showed up and he got a new job. His life hadn't been very eventful - that was if you ignored the fact that he had a stalker that sent him texts almost every day and there was a hacker showing up randomly to look at his phone. The texts from Panda weren't extremely bad; most of them were just texts telling Wonwoo 'Good night, sweetheart' or 'Good morning, baby'. If it wasn't for the fact that they were from someone that Wonwoo didn't even know, he would have liked them.

"Are you okay?" Wonwoo was ripped out of his angered daze when he heard a familiar voice and he looked up, meeting the worried gaze of his coworker. Joonhwi was standing up, his eyebrows raised as he looked at Wonwoo over the cubicle. The older man had decided to wear a white turtleneck and a black jacket, as well as a face full of makeup. Not that makeup was a bad thing. Wonwoo just didn't understand why Joonhwi would take time out of his day to look good for work. Not to mention that it was  _Tech support_ of all things. It wasn't like anyone was going to see your face.

Wonwoo groaned quietly and shook his head, brown hair falling into his eyes; he really needed a haircut. He had needed one for a while but he kept forgetting to book an appointment. "I hate technology and humans," he simply stated, staring at his computer. Wonwoo hadn't done anything on it other than swap from browser to browser looking at different useless websites. "I don't get why it's so hard to realise that when you're computer isn't working there is a chance you did something wrong and if you're gonna call the company for help you may as well-" he stopped to take a breath - "fucking listen to what I have to say before you start saying that I'm wrong, you fucking ponce." 

After speaking, Wonwoo closed his eyes and breathed in, calming his erratic nerves. "Sorry," he quickly apologised for his outburst, turning to face Joonwhi. "I just got worked up. I'm really tired," he said quietly, bringing his hands to his face and rubbing his eyes. 

Joonhwi laughed gently, shaking his head. "It's fine, Wonwoo. It's your first week, you're going to be stressed. But, hey," Joonhwi stopped, reaching over and placing a hand on Wonwoo's shoulder. "It'll get better. I promise." Wonwoo narrowed his eyes at him slightly before nodding slowly. That was something Wonwoo noticed about Joonhwi. He was just  _odd_. There was something about him - like he knew more than he said he did.  Whenever Wonwoo came into work, Joonhwi would look at him like he knew something that Wonwoo  _should_ know but didn't. 

It just irked Wonwoo, and he was beginning to find that he didn't like the other boy that much. He was a nice person and all but that look in his eyes... it unnerved Wonwoo and he didn't like it.

 

* * *

 

 

Wonwoo closed the fridge with a sigh. Soonyoung had drunk all the milk.  _A_ _gain._ "Soonyoung!" He called from the kitchen.

"What!" Soonyoung replied from his bedroom. Wonwoo grumbled quietly before making his way to his best friend's room. He couldn't be bothered to shout. Opening the door to Soonyoung's bedroom, he was greeted by the older male sitting on his bed, his legs crossed, a DS in his hands; he had bought it cheap off of eBay along with a crap ton of old games. Wonwoo sighed, leaning against the door frame. "Did you drink the milk?"

Soonyoung looked up from his game (probably Nintendogs) and grinned sheepishly, shrugging a shoulder. "Sorta, kinda? I had like... four bowls of cereal."

Wonwoo spluttered for a response, his eyebrows knitted together. "I bought four pints yesterday! How did you manage to use  _all_ four pints in a  _day_ _?_ __ " When Soonyoung shrugged again, the younger male bit the tip of his tongue, holding back another breakdown. "Okay, whatever. You're coming with me to the shop." The older male perked up and Wonwoo could have sworn he saw lights in his eyes. Wonwoo would have questioned it if he hadn't already known why. "Yes, I mean the corner shop. You can see your crush," Wonwoo stated, cringing a little when Soonyoung made a sound that was close to a squeal. 

Soonyoung suddenly jumped to his feet, disregarding his DS onto the bed, and ran over to Wonwoo, squeezing him with a quick hug before scuttling off to get dressed. Wonwoo watched with a fond smile then walked to the front room, waiting for his friend to finish.

 

"Really?" Wonwoo asked once Soonyoung came out of his room dressed in his 'special' jeans he wore for 'special occasions' (they weren't special they just showed off his ass), and eyeliner decorating his dark eyes. "Makeup? We're going to the  _corner shop_." 

Soonyoung scoffed, pouting as he crossed his arms. "A corner shop that happens to have three very attractive men working in.  _One_ man that I have a chance with." His pout shifted to a mischevious grin when he moved his gaze to Wonwoo. "And one guy  _you_ have a chance-" 

Before Soonyoung had a chance to finish that sentence, Wonwoo interrupted him with a quick: "Nope."

The older male whined, his arms flopping to his sides in defeat. "Oh, come on! He  _so_ has a thing for you. Just give the poor guy a chance-" Soonyoung stopped speaking when Wonwoo directed a glare his way and he huffed, pouting. "Wonwoo, you need a boyfriend, dude. You've been single for, like, five years. The last person you dated was that shitty guy who cheated on you-" Soonyoung stopped himself, realising that he shouldn't have mentioned that. He looked at Wonwoo, who had moved his gaze to the floor, and sighed, biting his lip. "Wonwoo-"

"No, it's fine, Soonyoung." Wonwoo breathed in shakily before smiling, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Let's just go get some milk. We can buy some snacks while we're there."

"You mean-"

"Yeah,  _I'll_ buy snacks while you chat up that guy you like."

Soonyoung laughed and winked at the younger male. "You know me so well, best friend."

"I've known you for fourteen years. It's impossible for me not to know you 'well', Soonyoung." Wonwoo laughed at Soonyoung's scrunched face before shaking his head, grabbing his jacket and opening the door to their flat. "Though I swear to god, if you get that guy to talk to me, I'm going to kill you."

"'Ey, no! I have immunity!" Soonyoung protested as he pulled his coat on.

Wonwoo stopped to look at his friend, his face blank, and replied, "I lied." Soonyoung whined again and Wonwoo laughed, scrunching up his nose. 

 

* * *

 

 

The corner shop was only five, six minutes away from their flat so they didn't have to walk very far. As soon as they entered, a voice from behind the counter called, 'Welcome!' and once he saw the two had entered, his greeting changed. "Soonyoung! Hi!"

"Seokmin, hey!" Soonyoung replied with a slight blush on his cheeks, grinning so wide that his eyes were practically non-existent. Wonwoo looked over to the counter to see Seokmin leaning against the doorframe leading to the backroom, smiling. Soonyoung went to the counter and started talking to Seokmin. Wonwoo didn't hear much of what he said but it seemed to shock Seokmin as his eyebrows raised and he [fought](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c4/e6/86/c4e686eda489dab0f30f77fae9e1a1a0.jpg) back a smile.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes at the sight and walked past Soonyoung to find milk and some snacks. A month or so before the corner shop was bought by a new family and Wonwoo hadn't thought it was a big deal until Soonyoung came up to him, saying that he saw an angel. That angel just turned out to be a very attractive man who somehow made Soonyoung fall in love with just a smile. Seokmin was born and raised in a small village in Northern Ireland and if Wonwoo had a pound every time Soonyoung had spoken about his accent, he would be a rich man. From what Wonwoo had seen from him, he wasn't that bad. He seemed to really like Soonyoung, considering that whenever they spoke he would smile wide with a blush on his cheeks, but Wonwoo still didn't have it in him to trust the poor guy. From what Wonwoo had experienced, you needed more than a charming smile to be trusted.

However, despite what Wonwoo thought, Soonyoung seemed to really like him and the younger male also didn't have it in him to break his best friend's heart. In the fourteen years, he had known Soonyoung, the older male had fallen in and out of love many times but he kept persisting that this one was 'different'. He said that, if Seokmin gave him the chance, he would spend the rest of his life with him.

Sighing, Wonwoo stopped in front of a shelf that was filled with crisps and let his eye scan the different brands, his hands secured safely in his pockets. They were all practically the same crisps but with different packages and yet Wonwoo still couldn't bring himself to buy the shop-brand ones because he didn't want to bring that kind of business to them. Like, if you've gone down far enough to rip off Walkers, then you obviously don't deserve to go any higher. "Why are there three different types of bacon crisps?" Wonwoo muttered to himself, his eyebrows knitted together. "Why does England need three different types of bacon crisps? What is even the point?" He sighed quietly, and stepped away, catching the sight of another worker in a heated argument with someone who looked like a delivery man.

He was standing close enough to hear what they were saying but, honestly, he wished that he couldn't. The worker said: "The fuck you mean it ain't there? I ordered it, so it should be fuckin' there!"

The delivery man, who looked like he was about to shit himself, quickly said back: "Dude, it's just my job to deliver. If it's not in the truck, I can't deliver it." Wonwoo moved slightly so he could see who was talking and he swallowed, blinking a little. _It's the buff one,_ he thought, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks when he realised. Seungcheol, or that was what Wonwoo thought his name was, had an expression on his face that was a mixture of anger and disbelief. When he scoffed and [looked](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/5c/80/cc/5c80cca358e093097762be1391d10eb5.jpg) to the side, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, Wonwoo had to look away as it was annoying attractive.

"Look,  _mate_ , I fucking ordered it so I wanted it to be here. Go look in the truck, and if it ain't there you better expect me to-" Seungcheol stopped when he saw Seokmin shaking his head, and took a deep breath. "Go look in the truck, mate. You better hope it's in there." The delivery man quickly nodded and scuttled off, leaving Seungcheol to glare at his back, crossing his arms. "They act like they're the dog's bollocks but, I swear." 

Wonwoo heard Seokmin laugh and he leaned over the counter to speak. "I heard that that guy's wife is pregnant," he said with a grin. Seungcheol raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the delivery door. 

"He's married?" Seokmin nodded. "I thought he was gay, to be honest. I can't believe his missus is up the duff. Can't believe he had it in him." 

"Cheol, I doubt it was an accident," Seokmin said after taking his hand from Soonyoung's; he must not have realised he even had it on top of his. "Those two have been at it for weeks."

Seungcheol turned to face Seokmin, confused. "How do you even know? You wasn't there, were you?" He asked with a smirk. Seokmin scoffed and rolled his eyes, smiling slightly.

"Oh, yeah, bang on, mate. 'Course I was," Seokmin replied with a small laugh before turning back to Soonyoung. Seungcheol smiled and took off his hat, sorting out his hair, when he noticed Wonwoo standing there. He grinned, waving slightly.

"Hey, Wonwoo," he greeted as he walked closer. "You good?" Despite having lived in London for a pretty long time, Wonwoo was sure that Seungcheol was the most London-type person he knew. His accent was so cockney, you could have put him in Oliver Twist and he wouldn't sound out of place at all. "Soonyoung said you got a new job. How's that going for you?"

Wonwoo cleared his throat and glanced to the side, rubbing his neck. "It's going fine, I guess. The guy who sits next to me is a little weird, but," Wonwoo shrugged, pulling his sleeves down so they covered his hands, "what can you do?" 

Seungcheol laughed, nodding his head. "What can you do?" His attention was pulled away when he saw the delivery man walk back in. "Right, I gotta shoot. Catch you later," he said before walking off. Wonwoo watched him leave before letting out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. Seungcheol was a little  _too_ attractive and it made Wonwoo's heart race. Glancing over at Soonyoung, he rolled his eyes, seeing his best friend leaning on the counter, his chin in his hands, as he watched Seokmin talk with a fond smile on his face.  _God, I hate romance,_ he thought to himself with a sigh before going back to the shelves.

A good few minutes of not being disturbed passed before Wonwoo felt someone's presence next to him. He tried to ignore it, keeping his gaze on the milk bottles in front of him, but then the person spoke and his whole plan went out the window.

"Hey, Wonwoo." 

"Did Soonyoung set you up to this?" Wonwoo asked, reaching for a bottle of milk before putting it back. He didn't like blue milk; too creamy. 

"No..." The man muttered, answering Wonwoo's question. _Obviously, Soonyoung had put him to it._ He sighed and turned around to look at him, adjusting his gaze since the man was taller than him. 

"What do you want, Mingyu?" It came out ruder than he had intended but Wonwoo was too tired to correct himself. Mingyu visibly flinched at Wonwoo's sharp voice and he looked down before lifting his gaze to meet Wonwoo's.

"I don't want anything," he said, smiling slightly. "I just came to say hello," Mingyu added a small pout, tilting his head to the side. "Am I not allowed to say hello?" Wonwoo breathed in and bit his lips, closing his eyes. 

"You know that's not what I mean, Mingyu." He adjusted his sweater paws and pushed his glasses further up his nose, blinking as he stared at Mingyu with calm eyes. "You want to ask me out, don't you?" Mingyu silence was enough to answer the question. "Look, Mingyu, you seem like a nice guy and everything, but..." The shorter male looked away, licking his lips in a nervous habit. With a small sigh, he looked back up at him. "Do you even know me, Mingyu? Like, actually know me? I know you seem to like me but you've only seen my face. How could you  _possibly_ like me for me?"

Mingyu pursed his lips before replying. "Then give me a chance to know you, Wonwoo." Wonwoo stood still at Mingyu's words, looking into the taller's eyes before quickly averting his gaze. Mingyu had such a sad look in his eyes and Wonwoo seriously didn't understand it. The guy hardly knew him and yet he was so sure on his feelings; like he really did know him. 

"I would love to," Wonwoo said quietly, avoiding Mingyu's eyes. "But I-I don't really want a relationship at the moment." Wonwoo cringed at his stutter and slowly lifted his gaze to meet Mingyu's. The taller's face held a small smile, even though it completely contradicted the sad look in his eyes. Wonwoo couldn't really figure out why, but the smile pulled at his heartstrings. The shorter male wanted to add on a sorry, he wanted to say that it wasn't his fault and that it really was just because Wonwoo didn't want a relationship, but he knew that, if he did, he would get the poor guy's hopes up.

With a sigh, Wonwoo grabbed a bottle of milk off of the shelf and, after taking one more look at Mingyu, walked away to the counter. Seokmin, who was still talking to Soonyoung, gave Wonwoo a weird look as he scanned the milk. He was about to tell him how much it cost when Wonwoo put a five-pound-note on the counter, grabbed Soonyoung's arm, and walked out. 

It wasn't until he heard the bell that indicated that the door of the shop had been opened or closed, did Wonwoo let out the breath he was holding. He looked over at Soonyoung, who was staring at him with confused eyes. "What was that about?" He asked, tilting his head. Wonwoo simply shook his head in reply, looking down at the floor.

The image of Mingyu's sad eyes was burnt into Wonwoo's mind and it bothered him. If Wonwoo didn't like him back, then why did he feel bad- 

_Bing_

Wonwoo grabbed his phone from his pocket and sighed. 

 

**Unknown Number**

_How was work, sweetheart? ~ Panda_

 

 _Great._ Wonwoo thought while putting his phone away.  _I'm gonna have to call Tech soon and see what he's found out. That tall bastard-_ Wonwoo's thoughts were quickly interrupted by Soonyoung who had groaned, taking the milk from him. "Dude, you suck. I can't believe you pulled me away from precious time with Seokmin just because you can't deal with an attractive, tall guy liking you," Soonyoung muttered before storming off.

"It's not that I can't deal with it- Oh, whatever, it doesn't matter anyway." Wonwoo took one more look at the door to the shop before following Soonyoung, his hands in his pockets.

 _Mingyu and Tech are around the same height_ , Wonwoo noted, chewing his lips. He shook his head, sighing.

"Probably just a coincidence," he said quietly, sniffling as the cold air hit his face. 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> like  
> im writing this  
> and 2 other fanfics  
> but  
> i really want to write a soonchan, 2seung, gyuboo and 2ji fanfic
> 
> but like  
> im busy
> 
> ;-;
> 
>  
> 
> (also im imagining seokmin with an Irish accent and i love it? like yes, please. I didnt know whether to go Brummie or cockney when it comes to seungcheol so i just went MEH and decided cockney would be better. for anyone who isn't from England, just look up British accents on youtube to see what a Brummie even is.)
> 
> (also also if you don't understand anything in this fic, please don't hesitate to ask me. Rereading this, I realise that there is a lot British shit)


	4. Books and fucking Kyle I

Wonwoo woke up to a knock on the door. Once the knocking stopped, he closed his eyes. He was about to ready himself to go back to sleep when it started again. After it carried on for several seconds, Wonwoo groaned and grabbed his phone, checking the time.  _It's 7:05 am on a bloody Sunday, who the fuck is at the door,_ he asked himself as he got out of bed, not bothering with putting on a pair of trousers.

He opened the door and was greeted with nothing. He was about to click his tongue in annoyance when he saw a box stand at his feet. Wonwoo, with a confused pout, looked outside his door, searching for the source of the box, before picking it up, gasping at how heavy it was. Though he struggled, Wonwoo managed to get the mysterious box into his flat, grunts and grumbles coming from his tired mouth as he did. 

At the same exact moment the box hit the coffee table with an unhealthy sounding slam, Soonyoung came out of his bedroom, his hair sticking out from every corner. 

"You're up early," Wonwoo said matter-of-factly. Soonyoung hummed in reply, walking over to the sofa, his face puffy with sleep.

"I heard doors," he replied quietly in a groggy voice, blinking slowly. "What's that?" he jutted his chin out towards the box. Wonwoo answered by shrugging, still unsure himself.

"When I opened the door there was no one there; just this box. I haven't opened it yet." At those words, Soonyoung seemed to snap awake and he jumped forward, staring at the box with suspicious eyes. Carefully, he leaned closer and pressed his ear against the cardboard, pouting as he concentrated. A few seconds passed before Soonyoung hummed, nodding his head. "Yeah, it's not a bomb. You can open it."

Wonwoo rolled his eyes with a smile and grabbed his car keys from the bowl that was on the coffee table, using them to cut the sellotape that sealed the box. For some reason he was nervous; there was no return address and it looked like it hadn't even through the postal system. With a deep breath, he opened the box and, at first, he was confused. Inside of the box was rows of typed out manuscripts, their pages joined together with plastic clips. After he picked up one of them, everything seemed to click into place.

They were manuscripts for books. And if that wasn't enough, they were manuscripts for books that hadn't even been  _released._

Wonwoo recognised some of the authors and some he had never heard of. He flipped through the one he picked up, his wide eyes skimming over the typed words. Wonwoo did this for a few moments before he slammed the book closed, staring at Soonyoung, shock evident in his eyes. The older looked back at him with wide, confused eyes, his eyebrows raised. "What... are they?" He asked in a cautious voice, taking the book from Wonwoo's hands.

"They're books."

Soonyoung gave him a weird look. "Why are you so shocked then? You love books."

"These haven't been released, Soonyoung. These should be on someone's computer, not in a box in our flat." Soonyoung gasped and Wonwoo nodded, his eyes still the size of saucers. "I don't even know how they got here-"

"There's a note," Soonyoung interrupted, reaching into the box and pulling out a piece of paper. After clearing his throat (in an overdramatic way), he read aloud: "'To my dearest Wonwoo,'" Soonyoung gave Wonwoo another look then carried on, "'I know how much you love reading. You always have. You're amazing and I hope you enjoy these books as well as the-'" Soonyoung suddenly stopped, his jaw going slack at the words on the paper. " _'Ten thousand quid_ that is now in your bank account!'" 

"You're joking." Wonwoo snatched the note from Soonyoung, who was still sitting there in shock, and read over the words. Sure enough, it said exactly what Soonyoung had read out. Skipping the rest of the message, Wonwoo went to the very bottom, seeing who the sender was. "This has to be a fucking piss take. It-It has to be!" Wonwoo groaned, throwing the paper onto the table. 

"Is it your stalker?" Wonwoo nodded. "Ugh, dude, I told you they knew where we lived. Still though," Soonyoung started, grinning when Wonwoo looked up to meet his eyes, "it's pretty cool that you've got all these books. And we now have ten thousand quid, that's pretty neat, huh?" He added an elbow nudge to his pestering but stopped when Wonwoo's calm gaze turned into an annoyed one.

"I'm telling Tech to get rid of it," he stated before walking to his bedroom. Soonyoung stood still for a moment before following, practically bouncing as he did.

"Who's Tech? Are they a friend? What kind of name is Tech? Is he a computer nerd?" Soonyoung gasped. "Is he a  _hacker?"_ Wonwoo sighed and glared at his friend, who was grinning.

"He's a hacker, and he isn't my friend," Wonwoo explained as he opened the door to his bedroom. "He's just helping me get rid of this stalker." He picked up his phone from the side and turned around. Soonyoung was standing at the door with a shit eating grin on his face. He always had that look on his face when he was about to say something stupid.

"Is he hot?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows. The day Soonyoung stopped trying to get Wonwoo together with people would be the day hell froze over and pigs were soaring through the sky.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes, unlocking his phone. "Yeah, sure. Hot as bloody hell." Soonyoung raised an eyebrow, not being able to tell if Wonwoo was being sarcastic or not. "Especially the face mask and sunglasses that he wears that covers his face. Absolutely bloody beautiful." Soonyoung whined, pouting.

"Why are you so sarcastic..." he mumbled quietly and shuffled to Wonwoo, looking at his phone from over his shoulder. "When did you meet?"

Wonwoo thought for a moment before answering. "Around... a week and a bit ago. The day before I went to work, he contacted me over my computer while I was doing a stream. Well, technically it was after a steam, but whatever." 

Soonyoung was silent and then huffed. "So, your stalker didn't come from your stream, but your hacker did. That sounds well legit, mate." Wonwoo shook his head at Soonyoung's sarcasm then carried on to check his bank account. Reading the five figures in his account made his mouth feel like he had eaten a handful of sand. 

"They seriously did give me ten thousand quid," he mumbled to himself, staring at the large number. What did they even expect Wonwoo to do with ten thousand pounds? What, was he meant to go buy a crap ton of clothes and new things? Did they seriously think that that wouldn't be at least a  _tiny_ bit suspicious? Wonwoo couldn't think of a dumber way for a stalker to try and get someone's love and attention. "They're stupid. They seriously are." He spent a moment more looking at the figure before going to the number that Tech had given him, texting it.

 

**Wonwoo**

_Panda just put £10,000 into my bank account._

_Get it out. Now._

 

**Tech**

_on it! :))_

 

"Awe~" Soonyoung cooed, looking at the text on the screen. "He uses emojis, how cute. I bet he likes you." Wonwoo scowled at Soonyoung. 

"Why are you like this?"

"Like what?" Soonyoung asked, feigning innocence.

"I hate you," was all Wonwoo said in response before walking off. 

 

* * *

 

 

"All of these books are boring as bloody hell..." Wonwoo heard Soonyoung groan next to him, rolling around on the sofa. The younger male rolled his eyes in reply then went back to the manuscript he was reading. Wonwoo had read the first book months before and really enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters but the second book had really let him down. He couldn't believe that the male character was playing the 'bad boy' role and had two girlfriends. He even refused to say sorry to her! 'I've never said sorry before in my life' was not a solid excuse in Wonwoo's opinion. 

Wonwoo's attention was dragged away from the words on the paper again when Soonyoung groaned once more, this time louder. He sighed, turning to face him. "What?"

"I'm bored~" he whined, pouting as he looked at Wonwoo.

"Not my problem," he replied before going back to his book. After a few moments of awkward, tense silence, he gave up. "Do you remember in high school when we had that reading competition and you entered even though you knew nothing about books?" Soonyoung laughed, sitting up.

"Yeah, I failed horribly."

Wonwoo lips curled into a smile as he remembered it. "You entered because you wanted to impress that girl in year 10, right? The tall one who liked anime. What was her name..." Wonwoo, lips parted, scrunched up his nose, racking his brain for answers. Suddenly, he gasped. "Olivia."

"Oh, my god! Olivia! I almost completely forgot about her. Do you remember Kyle? Not Kyle U, Kyle I." Wonwoo cringed a little but nodded. He remembered Kyle I well. Fucking Kyle I. He sucked. "Didn't you used to like him?" Soonyoung teased, wiggling his eyebrows. "You said you 'liked the way he spoke about Harry Potter,'" he said in a sickly sweet voice, holding his hands together.

"Get fucked, Soonyoung Kwon," Wonwoo spat jokingly with a grin, pushing Soonyoung, who laughed. "I didn't use to  _like like_ him. I just thought I did. I was fifteen and I'd only recently found out I was gay, leave me alone. It's better than you. When you found out you were gay, you spend every two seconds talking about the new guy you liked." 

"Pft," Soonyoung denied, looking away with pink cheeks. "It was weird finding out that you're gay in college, dude. Everyone in college was so..." Soonyoung shook his hands in front of him, unable to correctly describe the words he wanted to say. "You had it easy, dude. Greenwich was like the capital of gay shit."

"I don't think Greenwich was the capital of gay shit." Wonwoo laughed, taking the manuscript from his lap and placing it on the table. "I just think teens in 2017 were just more accepting. Also, this is  _Greenwich_ we're talking about. The number of times I got kissed by boys in our year was sorta stupid. Plus, all the girls in our year were constantly making out, so."

Soonyoung laughed again; a loud 'ahh-haa' sound. "I miss high school sometimes. I still can't believe you got a nine-plus on your English Language and Literature. I got a five. That's like... high passing grade."

"Yeah, but didn't you get a seven minus in maths?"

"Yeah, what did you get?"

Wonwoo laughed awkwardly, rubbing his neck. "Four minus." Soonyoung's mouth hung open in shock, his eyes wide.

"Four minus! That's like-" Soonyoung scoffed out of disbelief, placing a hand on his chubby cheek and pushing it as he thought. "That's like... just in there. You were so close to failing, Wonwoo."

"Yeah, and that's why I took English in college, not maths," Wonwoo stated, grinning wide with a scrunched up nose. "You know what was worse about that? I was in top level maths, you were in middle-level maths. And you still got better than me."

"Dude, you should just be glad that higher maths give out high grades for less work." Soonyoung laughed and then they grew silent again. Wonwoo wasn't sure what to say; they spoke all the time so they never really had anything interesting to talk about.

After a while, Wonwoo broke the silence. "Do you... ever think it's weird that all of our friends are Asian?" Soonyoung perked up at his voice and then laughed, grinning. Wonwoo smiled back, continuing. "Not even that, nearly everyone we know is Asian."

Soonyoung cackled and replied with a breathy: 'Plot convenience.' Wonwoo laughed at this, holding his stomach as he leant on Soonyoung. He didn't even know what was so funny but Soonyoung's laugh always managed to make him happy. They calmed down after a bit and Wonwoo sat there, resting his head on Soonyoung's shoulder, staring into space. "Oh, yeah," Soonyoung suddenly said. Wonwoo didn't move his head but shifted his body so he was closer. "There's this new kid at the dance class. His name is Chan and he's so cute. He's twenty so he's younger than Hansol but he's got the cutest Welsh accent and I love it."

"Chan?" Wonwoo asked, closing his eyes with a content sigh. 

"Yeah, he's Asian," Soonyoung said with a laugh. "That's how I remembered to bring this up. His grandparents are from Korea, but his mother and father are both Welsh. Though both his parents are Asian and are from Korea too. He's really sweet, I love him. But do you wanna know what's cool about him?"

"What?" Wonwoo mumbled.

"He speaks Korean! And Japanese! You know how cool that is! He's five years younger than me and he speaks more languages than I probably ever will in my life. He told me that one of his Chinese friends, Junhui, is teaching him Chinese too. I don't really know the difference between Cantonese Chinese and Mandarin but he says Cantonese is harder." Soonyoung laughed, slapping Wonwoo's thigh excitedly as he spoke. "He also has this really cute stage name: Dino. He says it's because he wants to dominate the stage when he dances. And, honestly? I've seen him dance and I can already say. He does dominate the stage."

"Dino..." Wonwoo repeated, his eyebrows knitted together. 

"Yeah, Dino! Isn't it cute?" Wonwoo nodded, although his mind was still elsewhere. Soonyoung was still talking and the younger was half listening, half not. 

_Dino... Didn't Tech mention someone called Dino a week ago?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a mess sorry


	5. Bubbles and Buttercup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is gonna be short sorry

"Can you _please_ tell me why you're doing this now?"

Wonwoo lifted his gaze from the green [sweater](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/73/27/94/732794e890e7f1b433313ee5b0c3d333.jpg) he was holding to stare at the taller male behind him. "Can you  _please_ tell me why you decided to call me when I was about to go out shopping?" His raised eyebrow fell when Tech sighed; the sound slightly distorted because of the voice modifier. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Wonwoo put the sweater back on the hook, chewing the inside of his lip as he thought. Sighing, he pushed his glasses up, turning to look at Tech.

"Look, I appreciate what you're doing for me but you really can't expect me to act like some holed up hermit." Wonwoo crossed his arms, his gaze calm as he watched Tech sigh and slouch, lowering his head. 

"I know~" Tech whined and Wonwoo suppressed a smile as the modifier made a high pitched noise. "But people are staring at me..." 

Wonwoo rolled his eyes.  _If you don't want to be stared at, don't wear stupid sunglasses and a face mask when you go out,_ Wonwoo thought to himself, moving his attention back to the clothes. Over the two and a bit weeks that Wonwoo had known Tech, the taller man hadn't taken off his disguise once. Every time they met up to speak about Panda, or whenever Wonwoo spoke to Tech over the phone, he never allowed Wonwoo to know who he really was. Even though Wonwoo was curious, he couldn't be bothered to spend too much time on it.

They fell silent again (Wonwoo didn't talk much and Tech was just awkward) until Wonwoo felt a pair of eyes on the side of his face. "What?" He asked, his voice free of annoyance or anger. He saw Tech shrug from the corner of his eye, his face mask shifting slightly. Wonwoo had found out that it shifted whenever Tech grinned or pouted; it was usually easy to tell which one he was doing. 

"You're really pretty, Wonwoo."

Well. That was unexpected.

Wonwoo spluttered, blinking rapidly as he turned to gape at Tech. Fighting back a burning blush, he swallowed, attempting to compose himself. His stomach did  _not_ flutter. Nope. Definitely didn't happen. 

Clearing his throat, he replied, "Don't mess with me."

"I'm not," Tech responded almost immediately. "You're really pretty, I mean it." Wonwoo gave Tech a look before shaking his head, turning his back to him to hide the blush that tinted his blush. "Awe, are you blushing?" Tech teased but stopped when Wonwoo threw him another look. He laughed, wiggling his shoulders happily. The shorter sighed and turned again, his blush only growing darker when he heard Tech whisper: "He's so cute."

It had been a week since Panda had 'gifted' Wonwoo a box of books and a  _very_ unnecessary ten thousand pounds and, in that week, Wonwoo's stalker had been somewhat radio silent. He had got maybe two texts from them and that was it, which was strange because usually, they sent one every day. One thing in that week that  _had_ increased was that Tech had appeared more and more in his life. Wonwoo couldn't say he hated it, Tech had an...  _interesting_ personality, but Wonwoo couldn't say he liked it; for the very same reason.

Wonwoo had never been complimented so much in life. Every chance Tech got, he would compliment Wonwoo on his looks or his smile. Once he even called Wonwoo's  _ears_ cute.

_"Wonwoo." Wonwoo lifted his head when Tech called him, an eyebrow raised. "You have really cute ears," Tech said with a laugh, the sound coming out strange. The shorter of the two went blank before grabbing Tech and practically throwing him out of the flat._

_"Fucking hell," he mumbled, covering his face to hide his blush from no one._

Now, Wonwoo wasn't complaining. It was always nice to be complimented. But when it came from someone who hid his face and was probably a huge creep? Well, that was a different story.

Soonyoung kept saying- God, Soonyoung. Wonwoo quickly grabbed his phone and checked the time. "Fuck," he said aloud before he could stop himself. Tech was by his side instantly, staring down at Wonwoo's phone. "Is it Panda?" Wonwoo quickly shook his head, opening up his messages with his best friend.

 

**_Buttercup_ **

Soon, are you still on your date with Seokmin?

 

Tech snorted. "Buttercup?" 

"Shut it. Soonyoung likes Powerpuff girls." Tech silenced with Wonwoo's words but Wonwoo could tell the taller male was grinning.

 

**_Bubbles_ **

YEyessss hes aso perfacet i cannnnttttt

**_Buttercup_ **

Are you at the shopping centre? 

 

**_Bubbles_ **

yep y??

 

Wonwoo sighed, frustrated. Great. Wonwoo really didn't want to run into his best friend while he was a date.

 

**_Buttercup_ **

No reason. Have fun with Seokmin.

 

**_Bubbles_ **

OKEEEYYY

<3

 

Tech laughed at the text before walking ahead slightly, humming a tune that Wonwoo didn't recognise. Wonwoo couldn't care to recognise it at that moment. He was too busy dealing with the internal turmoil that was going on inside his head. A couple days before, Soonyoung had come up to him, a wide grin on his face and tears in his eyes, saying that Seokmin had _finally_ asked him out on a date. 

Wonwoo, frankly, was relieved. It was about time those two got together. But for the next few days until the actual date, Soonyoung had been a jittery mess. He bought four different outfits that looked practically the same and Wonwoo had woken up to him dancing at four in the morning the day before. Wonwoo got it, he really did. Soonyoung was nervous because he really liked Seokmin, but  _holy shit_. How antsy can one person be? Wonwoo walked into the front room that morning to see Soonyoung upside down on the sofa, his shirt half on and his shoes on the wrong feet. When he asked him what was wrong, Soonyoung replied by saying he wasn't going because Seokmin would never like him back and that it was all a joke. It took Wonwoo an hour to get Soonyoung to leave the house with his shoes on the right feet.

The younger of the two was happy for him. Soonyoung deserved it; a good relationship with a good person. Soonyoung deserved a lot. 

"Wait, Wonwoo." Wonwoo looked at Tech as he spoke, confused. "Isn't that your friend Soonyoung?" He asked, pointing over the barrier to the first floor of the shopping centre.

_Shit._

"What, where?" Wonwoo moved closer to Tech so he could see, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the strain of focusing on something far away. He had needed to go to the opticians for a while but kept forgetting. "Oh, god..." He mumbled quietly, sighing.

Soonyoung was sitting next to Seokmin, the taller of the two leaning onto the other, [staring](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/41/a4/08/41a408a620c81f4a6cd6783e883f71b6.jpg) up at him as he spoke. Wonwoo felt strange while watching. Seokmin was looking at Soonyoung like he was the most important thing in his life; like he was the sun or something else that he relied on to live. Wonwoo watched as Soonyoung [said ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/24/ce/21/24ce2186f343090e1c73e7b9166aaf72.jpg)something, which Seokmin replied to by [grinning](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/2b/74/1a/2b741a7bd7e94890fab0350a090327e4.jpg), his face brightening.

Wonwoo, despite himself, felt a smile spread across his lips. Soonyoung looked happy; happier than he had looked in a long time. However, Wonwoo couldn't help but feel his heartstrings tug. His best friend, practically his only friend, was over there in love with someone who obviously liked him back and Wonwoo felt... strange. He wasn't jealous. He loved that Soonyoung was finding someone. He just felt like now that the older was in love, he'd leave Wonwoo. 

He was scared that because, now, Soonyoung had someone else, he wouldn't need Wonwoo.

The brunette sighed, stepping away from the barrier. 

"Wonwoo?" Tech asked, his voice sounding concerned even with the stupid modifier.

"Go home, Tech," he said quietly, looking down at his feet. "I... I don't feel like doing anything anymore." Tech stood awkwardly next to Wonwoo before sighing.

"Okay, Wonwoo," Tech replied. "I'll see you another time." Wonwoo felt a hesitant hand pat his head before he heard footsteps walk away. Once he was alone, he sighed, closing his eyes. Half of him didn't want Tech to actually leave, and the other half did. He felt conflicted and confused. He wanted to be left alone but...

He didn't want to  _be_ alone.

 


	6. Heartbreak and Alarms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah
> 
> spring is here
> 
> and so is my hay fever
> 
> (not proofread)

Wonwoo watched Soonyoung, for the sixth time that hour, check his phone and, for the sixth time that hour, saw his face fall.

It was worrying seeing his best friend upset. Wonwoo expected Soonyoung to come back from his date with a grin on his face, giddy from excitement as he retold what happened over and over until Wonwoo's ears were practically bleeding. But, nothing happened. Soonyoung hadn't mentioned Seokmin's 'adorable Irish accent', or the way his eyes disappeared when he smiled, or even how nice and calming his voice was. He hadn't mentioned anything at all. 

The younger male looked Soonyoung from over the frame of his glasses, seeing him glance at his phone before shaking his head and going back to his video game. At that point, it was getting ridiculous. Feeling frustration bubble in his throat, Wonwoo placed his book down next to him and pushed his glasses up, leaning forward on the edge of the sofa. "Soonyoung, what's wrong?" Soonyoung perked up, turning to face Wonwoo with a curious gaze. "You've been mopey since yesterday. What happened? Did Seokmin forget about you or something?" He tried to joke but it went down the drain when Soonyoung's shoulders deflated and he sucked in his bottom lip, attempting to stop it from quivering.  _Well, fuck._ Wonwoo breathed out slowly, reaching up and rubbing his temple, stressed. "Soonyoung, I..." he trailed off when he saw Soonyoung's face; he looked like he was on the verge of tears.

The other placed the game controller down and blinked as he stared at his lap. "I thought it went really well, dude... But-but..." He whimpered, picking up his phone. "He hasn't texted me back or anything. I thought- He said he was going to..." Wonwoo sighed and, after sitting still for a few moments, moved over so he was next to Soonyoung. Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, he gestured for him to carry on. "He said he really liked being with me and I told him I felt the same- Oh, god!" Soonyoung covered his face; there was a blush covering his face but Wonwoo couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or if it was from him working himself up. "He probably thinks I'm desperate or something! I fucked up so bad, Wonwoo..." 

Wonwoo licked his lips, unsure of what to say, and gently pulled Soonyoung closer, rubbing his shoulder soothingly. "I... It's not really your fault, Soonyoung. I mean, if Seokmin doesn't want to be with you, then he's missing out." Soonyoung sucked in a deep breath before hiding his face in the crook of Wonwoo's shoulder. He could feel him blink against his skin, his short eyelashes brushing against him, before he closed his eyes completely. There was a slight wet feeling there that wasn't there before but Wonwoo didn't complain. "Soonyoung?" His voice was quiet and soft as if he was scared he might break Soonyoung if he was too loud. The poor guy was already in a vulnerable state; he didn't want to make it worse.

"I wanna be with him, though, Wonwoo... I haven't felt this way about someone in such a long time. He just makes me happy," he said in a hushed voice, slightly muffled from where his face was. Wonwoo breathed out slowly, glancing over at Soonyoung's phone where it laid on the floor, before shaking his head. He didn't know what to say or do. Relationships weren't Wonwoo's strong point. Romance wasn't Wonwoo's strong point. Hell, even feelings weren't Wonwoo's strong point.

So, instead of doing or saying anything, he just sat there and, even though he hated hugs or any type of physical contact, allowed Soonyoung to hold him.

 

* * *

 

 

Wonwoo hissed in surprise as cold hit him. He had left the house with just a jacket draped over his thin shirt to protect him from the biting air, not exactly expecting it to be  _that_ cold. He pulled the material closer to him as he walked, deciding against trying his car. The damn thing probably wouldn't work anyway.

Soonyoung was upset and he wanted ice cream. The only problem was: they didn't have ice cream. Usually, Soonyoung would go to the shop to get more as Wonwoo hated going outside but he couldn't exactly do that. So Wonwoo, despite being socially awkward to the point where he once asked a woman who  _was not_ pregnant when the baby was due, decided to be Soonyoung's knight in shining armour and go get more ice cream. 

But,  _Jesus Christ,_ Wonwoo hadn't expected it to be so cold. Once he finally made it into the shop, it was like a God's gift when he felt the heating rush over him, warming his freezing skin. Letting out a long, content sigh, Wonwoo shook his limbs free of the lingering feeling of chilly wind. 

However, his enjoyment was quickly cut short. 

"Oh- Hey, Wonwoo!" He heard a familiar cheery, heavy accented voice call out and Wonwoo could already see Seokmin waving with a grin. Instead of answering, Wonwoo simply threw a glare at the other male, quickly shutting him out. Wonwoo sighed heavily, shaking his head, and then walked to the corner where they kept the freezers. He was alone for a while before he felt someone walk up beside him.

"So..." Seokmin started, tapping his fingers against the glass of the freezer from where he leant on it. "How's Soonyoung?" Wonwoo felt anger bubble in his stomach but he ignored it, deciding to instead stare at Seokmin with a blank expression. He felt a little surge of achievement when Seokmin shifted awkwardly, glancing away while clearing his throat. "I-I think it, you know, it went pretty well-" Seokmin yelped as the freezer door slid shut with a slam, stepping away in surprise.

"You think it went  _well?_ _"_ Wonwoo asked, feeling the bubbles begin to pop. "It went  _well?"_ He repeated, his eyebrows going past his fringe.

"Uhh," the shorter male chuckled nervously, rubbing his neck. "I guess?"

Wonwoo scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Seriously?" 

A crease formed on Seokmin's forehead as he looked at Wonwoo. "Why? Did-Did Soonyoung say otherwise?" 

There was a sudden urge to punch him rising in Wonwoo's thoughts. "Are you being serious right now? You want Soonyoung to say it went well?" Seokmin looked lost but nodded his head. "You want him to say that it went well when you can't even be bothered to text him back when you promised you would? Are you fucking serious?" Wonwoo knew that he shouldn't be saying this to him. It was something Soonyoung said he would sort out himself. But when Seokmin was being as rude as he was then, Wonwoo couldn't help but stand up for his friend.

Seokmin stood still for a few moments before a look of pure terror crossed over his phone and he grabbed his phone from his back pocket so fast Wonwoo was almost scared he was going to drop it. He unlocked his phone quickly and Wonwoo watched as his eyebrows did a little dance; from confusion, to surprise, to more confusion, and then disappointment. 

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow when he looked up, a sad yet amused look in his eyes. "The texts didn't send... I didn't check them until now 'cause I didn't want to seem desperate," he said quietly before showing Wonwoo his screen.

_You have got to be fucking joking me._

A scoff of disbelief fell from Wonwoo's lips and, after blinking a couple times, he groaned, looking away. "Are you fucking  _serious_ right now. I had to listen to Soonyoung complain for ages because your fucking phone didn't send your cringe ass messages?" 

Seokmin, still in shock, nodded his head slowly before breaking out into a huge grin. "I wondered why he wasn't replying. I thought he was ignoring me," he stated in a half amused, half relieved tone. Wonwoo gave him a flat stare before shoving the man's phone against his chest. 

"If you don't call him, right now, I'm going to kick you so hard you lose your accent." 

"Oh- Okay," he hesitated, giving Wonwoo one last look, before pacing away, his phone in his hand. Wonwoo watched him leave while feeling, frankly, pissed off. 

Those two idiots really did deserve each other.

Wonwoo kept his eyes on the door that Seokmin disappeared into until he saw a familiar face walk through it and quickly averted his gaze. There was a moment of tense silence before the person sighed and Wonwoo heard footsteps on the hardwood floor. "Morning, Wonwoo," Mingyu said softly from where he stood a few metres from Wonwoo. The shorter male sighed and turned back to the fridge, gripping the handle.

"Mingyu." His reply was brief and sharp, his gaze focused down at the ice cream below him. Mingyu breathed out a short laugh which gained the shorter's attention. Wonwoo looked up to meet Mingyu's hard stare, an eyebrow raised. "What?"

"Nothing," Mingyu spoke happily, a grin on his face, his head slightly tilted. "It's just kind of funny how you managed to make Seokmin Lee, one of the most talkative people I know, speechless." Wonwoo couldn't help but smile slightly at Mingyu's words and shifted on his feet. Mingyu obviously liked the fact he managed to make Wonwoo smile because his grin grew wider, spreading ear to ear. The taller male flicked his tongue across his teeth before clearing his throat. The blush that dusted his cheek caused Wonwoo to look at him with narrowed eyes; he wasn't judging him, he was just confused. "Hey, um, can I ask you something?"

 _Say no, Wonwoo Matthews. Don't you fucking dare say-_ "Sure, what's up?"  _Oh, you fucker._

Mingyu visibly perked up, his tanned skin becoming bright and his canines shining as he beamed. "Well, there's this new restaurant opening and I thought that, maybe, it would be fun to go." The taller ran a hand through his hair and then fixed it in the space of a few seconds, swallowing. "I was gonna try and seem casual and say I've already asked my friends and they're busy so how about you and me go, but..." He giggled nervously, shrugging his shoulders in an almost overdramatic way. "That would be lying and I'm not really that great at lying. I just kind of wanna go to the restaurant with you." He sounded so genuine like he really did want to go with Wonwoo.

He sounded so genuine that Wonwoo actually felt bad about what he was about to say.

"Thank you," Wonwoo mumbled quietly before turning to him. He took a deep breath, let it out and took in another. "But no, thank you. You're a great person, Mingyu, and everything but, like I've already said a million times, I'm not interested in dating right now." He said the next part quieter. "How could I be when I have those two idiots following my every move..." Wonwoo lifted his gaze, levelling it with Mingyu's, and instantly regretted. 

Mingyu was smiling but there wasn't anything behind it. His eyes were full of an emotion Wonwoo couldn't place and it  _fucking_ hurt. It almost made him want to take that back and accept the poor guy on the date. Mingyu nodded his head slowly, his smile still on his lips. It was so sad; yet so beautiful. Wonwoo averted his gaze, feeling as though he wasn't allowed to look. "Okay, that's okay. I'll see you another time, Wonwoo." 

Wonwoo saw Mingyu wave at him as he walked off but he didn't reply. He just turned around, breathed in, and left.

 

* * *

 

 

It was the day after and Wonwoo couldn't help but let his mind wander from where he sat in his office, his eyes glued to the inactive screen in front of him. He was meant to be working - whatever that was - but his mind kept focusing on the day before. Mainly on the look that Mingyu had on his face when he rejected him. He really didn't understand it. Why did Mingyu look so sad? Why did he always look at Wonwoo like he had known him for so long? Why did Wonwoo's heart hurt when he thought about him?

Wonwoo didn't understand.

It had been a slow day; not many people had called and a few people hadn't come in due to a sickness bug that was going around. Wonwoo was, frankly and without a doubt, bored. Joonhwi had been up and down all day, discussing things with others before sitting and tapping away at his keyboard like a madman. Wonwoo almost wanted to ask him what was going on but the socially inept side of him decided against that. 

With a short sigh, Wonwoo pushed himself away from his desk, allowing himself to stretch out his legs. His eyebrows lifted in pure bliss as his muscles tensed then relaxed, sending pleasant shivers up his spine. "Jesus, I'm getting old," he murmured quietly, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. A sudden hand appeared on his shoulder and the twenty-five-year-old jumped out of his skin, gaining the attention of the rest of the office when he shouted in surprise. Wonwoo whipped around to look at the source of the hand, his heart jumping in his chest.

"What the f- Josh? You scared the living hell out of me!" He hissed, glaring at his American friend. Joshua stood there laughing gently at the reaction, his smile soft and caring.  _Ugh, he's so attractive. It should be illegal,_ Wonwoo thought with a small grimace before allowing his face to soften morph into a smile. 

Joshua sighed content and placed a hand on the back of Wonwoo's chair. "Wonwoo, if you're getting old then I must be ancient."

"'Must be'?" Wonwoo repeated jokingly, grinning crookedly as he looked at Joshua. "You mean 'already are'."

The older male mocked a shocked gasp before huffing, smiling. "Why is my age such a consistent conversation subject with us?" 

"Because your age is a pretty-" Wonwoo found himself cut off by a loud, blaring sound coming from his computer. His face scrunched up as the sound caused his ears to ring and he stood up, attempting to block out the sound with his hands. Once he was up, he noticed that the sound wasn't coming from just his computer; it was coming from every single computer on the floor. "What-What the hell is going on?" Wonwoo attempted to shout over the noise, squinting as he looked at Joshua. The older male, who was also covering his ears, shrugged, his eyes wide with confused panic. 

"I don't- Ah! Joonhwi!" Wonwoo twirled around to see Joonhwi, his handsome face morphed into a grimace as he tapped away at his computer. "What's going on? Why is- Why are the computers making that sound?" 

"I think-" Joonhwi grunted as the sound went up a pitch. Wonwoo's body felt heavy as the sound penetrated his ears, causing his brain to vibrate. "I think it's a virus- Someone must have hacked us-"

"Hacked us?!" Joshua interrupted, his voice pitchy with disbelief. "Why would someone hack us? We don't do anything!"

"I don't know!" Joonhwi whined, clenching and unclenching his hands to stop him from slamming them on the table. "I'll have to... check the server room." His voice wasn't loud but Wonwoo could hear him clear as day. The man stood to his feet before hurrying off. Joshua and Wonwoo shared a look before they both went their respective computers, clacking away at the keyboards to try find the source of the blaring, unbearable sound. It continued for another few agonising moments before it suddenly went silent. It was appreciated but Wonwoo could still hear a piercing ringing sound in his ears.

"Okay, what the actual fuck was that." Wonwoo looked at Joshua with confused eyes, a crease forming between his eyebrows. "Why- Why were we just hacked?"

"I don't think it was a hacking problem," Joonhwi said and Wonwoo jumped. How the _fuck_ did he get there. "I just think it was a virus."

"Aren't viruses usually put in by hackers, though?" Joshua asked, arms crossed. Joonhwi shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Surely there must have been some sort of information from that."

"There wasn't anything. I fixed it and it's good- Hey, Wonwoo?" Wonwoo perked up at the mention of his name and he lazily lifted his gaze to meet Joonhwi's. "Are you feeling okay?" The taller male sniffed a little before nodding. He did feel light headed and his body felt weak but that must have been because of the noise. 

"Yeah, I think. Maybe that noise just messed with my head a little." He waved a hand dismissively. "So, you fixed the problem?" Joonhwi ran a hand through his styled hair and sighed, jerking his head slightly in a nod.

"I think so. It's not beeping anymore so."

"That noise was so loud." Joshua sniffled slightly, glancing at the computer that was to the left of him. "It... It kind of reminded me of what happened to Ardval Corp when Seventeen hacked into it," he said with a huff of laughter, smiling. Both Joonhwi and Wonwoo looked at Joshua at almost the same time, each having an eyebrow raised. "I was there when it happened. Before... everything was revealed, there was this-" Joshua hummed, trying to find the right word. "This piercing sound coming from the computers. It's like a warning, I suppose." At this point, Joonhwi had shifted his gaze and Wonwoo was staring holes into the computer next to him. "I don't know though," Joshua added with a laugh, eyes wrinkling into crescent moons.

Wonwoo sighed. He opened his mouth to say something. Closed it. Then sighed again.  _My life revolves around Seven- Fucking - Teen._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for this chapter being a little short and late
> 
> I've had stomach ache for a bit so everythings a little bleergh
> 
>  
> 
> also btw
> 
> no idea how hacking works  
> lol


End file.
